Will Smith Celebrates Afrobeat Legend, Fela: “His life was DEEP!”

Two full decades after the phenomenal Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer, pioneer of the Afrobeat music genre, human rights activist and political maverick passed away, the world still can’t seem to get enough of the ever-iconic Fela.

Since his death in 1997, there has been a revival of Fela’s influence in music and popular culture spearheaded by worldwide acclaimed superstars such as Beyoncé, who has repeatedly acknowledged his influence on her music and even reportedly cooked up an entire album inspired by the legendary Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer, which unfortunately was never released.

This time, multi-talented and widely celebrated American actor, producer, rapper, comedian, and songwriter, Will Smith – who fans would recall only joined Instagram not up to a month ago – has taken to the photo-sharing social media platform to celebrate the legendary life of Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

The superstar shared a throwback picture of himself and his wife, Jada Pinkett, with arguably Hollywood’s favourite billionaire power couple, Jay-Z and Beyoncé. According to the ‘Men in Black’ star, the photo was taken in 2010 during a play produced to celebrate Fela’s life.

In his Instagram post, the proud father of  Jayden and Willow wrote about how the play named after Fela, which he produced with his wife and friends, got a remarkable 11 Tony Award nominations, and further urged his fans to find out more about the legendary Afrobeat icon whose life he described as deep.

Here’s what Will’s photo caption said:

May 20, 2010. We all produced a play together on Broadway called FELA. It was about the late Nigerian Artist / Activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti. We were nominated for 11 Tony Awards!!! Look up FELA. His life was DEEP! #tbt