Nigerians on Twitter have applauded the American queen of music, Beyonce for paying tribute to Afro beat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti and honouring Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adichie. Beyonce also featured some Nigerian dancers.
Beyonce, who became the first black woman to headline Coachella on Saturday, did so with a two-hour performance and had her band perform a rendition of Fela’s 1976 classic ‘Zombie’.
Fela Kuti was a Nigerian musician and activist, who launched Afro-beat, which then fused American blues, jazz and funk with traditional Yoruba music. Nigerians were excited that she decided to honour two Nigerians, alongside other black legends including Nina Simone and Malcolm X.
Nigerian singer, Emma Nyra wrote @emmanyra tweeted, “Beyonce just made me so proud to be who I am. Unapologetically black, female and talented. Our voice matters. She even paid tribute to Fela! I will forever be a fan.”
@Blackdot_Mandy tweeted, “Beyonce just paid a tribute to Afroking and Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti during her Coachella performance. I stan Beyonce Knowles.”
@Erhuwrites wrote, “Who else got chills when they heard Chimamanda’s voice at the end of Beyonce’s glorious performance at Coachella? I still have goose bumps.”
@DrDendere tweeted, “Beyonce is now new level amazing. Chimamanda blasting out during her Coachella performance is life.”
@Ganga_A wrote, “Within Beyonce’s Coachella performance in the little bit where the band was going off, they play Fela Kuti’s Zombie. This is why she is number one, a cultured queen and an unshakeable throne.”
@KLCHII tweeted, “Beyonce really brought Fela to Coachella with that lil hook.” ‘irreplaceable’ crooner also featured Chimamanda Adichie’s speech ‘We Should All Be Feminists’, which was sampled on her song ‘Flawless’, at the end of her performance.”
Chimamanda Adichie is a multi-award winning writer and her second book ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ won the Orange Prize.
Two Nigerian dancers also took to their Instagram handles to thank Beyonce for giving them the chance to perform alongside her. Diddi Emah and Kendra Oyesanya hailed Beyonce’s work ethic and dedication to her craft.
Kendra wrote, “A dream come true. Performed with the one and only @beyonce At #Coachella. I don’t know why I had to lose my dad during this process, but I know he was watching me from the front row. Thank you Beychella ❤And Thank you @jaquelknight & @chrisgranted.”
While Diddi wrote, “God bless you @beyonce!!! @jaquelknight would I have done without you? This one is for all the small girls in villages back home in Nigeria. God is alive and kicking! Dream as big as you can-and then believe it! Thank you for all the support. To perform behind the first black woman to SLAY the stage at Coachella-to slay the world. All hail the QUEEN @beyonce. She is a true masterpiece. I’VE NEVER WATCH SOMEONE WORK THAT HARD Let alone a woman. Thank you to all the Historical Black Colleges-you made this possible. I’m so proud to be African and American.”
Check out some of her other outfits:
And some clips:
Credits: Beyonce, Instagram, Twitter, Thisday, Fabwoman
Beyonce like Opra is an intelligent and confident African American lady who shows pride in her continent of origin. She needs to come and invest in Africa like Opra did and Nigeria should be her destination. The problem with most successful and rich African Americans is that they have been brain-washed to loathe Africa and Africans and sadly they are ignorant of business opportunities and developments in in Africa. They would rather squander their wealth on useless toys like cars and jewelries to get the approval of white Americans which they never ger as the recent case of two black men arrested at Starbucks coffee shop has shown.
One wonders why rich African Americans cannot come to Africa and establish coffee shops with their brand names using coffee seeds harvested in Ethiopia, Kenya, Cameroon etc. to service the over 1billion Africans. Same for other products. They would rather stay in America and see their children hunted and killed like game by racist white policemen.