Blackalicous' Chief Xcel Remixes Afrobeat Pioneer

Quannum has just released The Underground Spiritual Game, an album of Chief Xcel’s Fela Kuti remixes. A charismatic and controversial bandleader, Kuti (pictured above right, Chief Xcel left) was a powerful activist and possibly Africa's most pioneering and influential musician. The creator of the musical style, Afrobeat, Kuti was and continues to be a major influence on a variety of artists and genres.

As executive producer Paul Heck (Red Hot + Riot) explains, "Underground Spiritual Game was Fela's way of describing the reality that was below the surface of everyday life ... this mix brought me back to all the original records once again. That is the beauty of Fela's music and the Underground Spiritual Game."

The album was a labor of love for Chief Xcel (his main focus before heading back into the studio to work on the upcoming Blackalicious album) and features Kuti tracks like "Africa Centre of the World," "Monkey Banana" and "Ariya."

"He has always been a musical inspiration to me,” says Chief Xcel of Kuti. “When the people from Red Hot + Riot came to me, they originally wanted me to remix Fela's entire catalogue but I was intimidated at the prospects so rather than do it all at one time, I decided to chop it off little by little. Hopefully this will be the first in a long list of remixes I do of Fela's music."

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