''Sorrow Tears and Blood'' is an album by Nigerian Afrobeat composer, bandleader, and multi-instrumentalist Fela Kuti recorded in 1977 and originally released on the Nigerian Kalakuta label.

Music and lyrics

Over a midtempo

groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station ...

, and interspersed with Kuti's relaxed saxophone playing, the title track features him reproving what he felt was a docility among Africans in the face of political hardship. The song was written in the wake of a raid on Kuti's Kalakuta Republic compound by 1,000 armed members of the

Nigerian army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

on February 18, 1977. The scene is described in his lyrics, "Everybody run, run, run / Everybody scatter, scatter / Some people lost some bread / Some people just die ... Them leave sorrow, tears, and blood / Them regular trademark". The second composition is titled after the inferiority complex called

colonial mentality A colonial mentality is the internalized attitude of ethnic or cultural inferiority felt by people as a result of colonization, i.e. them being colonized by another group.Nunning, Vera. (06/01/2015). Fictions of Empire and the (un-making of imper ...

, and whose lyrics list a range of examples of "things dem dey do, dem dey overdo all the things dem dey do" such as "think wey black no good, na foreign things dem dey like" and "dem go turn air condition, and close them country away" no be so?

Reception and legacy

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

review stated: "In contrast to the hard-edged and aggressive Afro-funk that Kuti and his Africa 70 became synonymous with, both the A-side title track and B-side, 'Colonial Mentality,' are seemingly staid, in light – or perhaps because – of the cruel state-sponsored attacks that he and his extended family suffered."Planer, L.
Allmusic Review
accessed May 8, 2014. The title song has been

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

X-Clan X Clan (formerly stylized as XCLAN and often incorrectly spelled X-Clan) is a hip hop group from Brooklyn, New York, originally consisting of Grand Verbalizer Funkin' Lesson Brother J, Professor X the Overseer, Paradise the Architect, and Su ...

on their 1990 song "Grand Verbalizer, What Time Is It?", Missy Elliott on her 2001 song "Whatcha Gonna Do", and

Skales Raoul John Njeng-Njeng (born 1 April 1991), better known by his stage name Skales (an acronym for Seek Knowledge Acquire Large Entrepreneurial Skills), is a Nigerian rapper, singer, and songwriter. In 2000, he started writing rap songs in Kadun ...

on his 2016 song "Temper"'s remix with

Burna Boy Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (born 2 July 1991), known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He rose to stardom in 2012 after releasing "Like to Party", the lead single from his debut studio album, ''L.I. ...

. The American singer Bilal and the rapper Common remade the song for the former's second album, '' Love for Sale''. Sorrow, Tears & Blood appears in ''

Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the e ...

'' in the radio station '' International Funk 99'' hosted by

Femi Kuti Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (born 16 June 1962), popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and a grandchild of political campaigner, women's ri ...

Track listing

All compositions by Fela Kuti. # "Sorrow Tears and Blood" – 10:15 # "Colonial Mentality" – 13:45

Personnel

* Fela Kuti –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

, alto saxophone, electric piano, vocals *Tunde Williams, Nwokoma Jkem – trumpet *Lekan Animashaun – baritone saxophone *Leke Benson, Clifford Itoje, Oghene Kologbo – guitar *Nweke Atifoh – bass guitar * Tony Allen – drums *Ayoola Abayomi – percussion *Babajide Olaleye –

maracas A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were ...

*Oladeinde Koffi, Addo Nettey, Shina Abiodun – congas * Alake Anikulapo-Kuti, Emaruagheru Anikulapo-Kuti, Fehintola Anikulapo-Kuti, Kewe Anikulapo-Kuti, Ronke Anikulapo-Kuti, Shade Anikulapo-Kuti, Tejumade Anikulapo-Kuti – vocals

References

External links

* {{Authority control Fela Kuti albums 1977 albums Afrobeat albums