In the late '60s, Fela Kuti was a young musician playing in highlife bands around the Nigerian capital city of Lagos. Adding the rhythms of funk and jazz to the mix, Kuti created Afrobeat, an endless and fiery groove that made him one of the most popular musicians in Africa. He was also the most controversial artists of his era, attacking the corrupt Nigerian government in his lyrics and routinely facing violent harassment from the police. Both a musical innovator and a crusader for social justice, Kuti released dozens of fiercely political and passionately funky albums until his death in 1997.