Lesbians of Kalakuta: Publication Alert!
In the riveting personal narrative of one of the foremost insiders of Kalakuta, a couple of sentences that a skim reader might miss were about one of the less-known identities of Kalakuta's residence. We know from archives that the demographic of the "republic" within a republic was diverse, but what was unknown is what this book talks about.
In Fela and Me, the author writes about lesbians in Kalakuta. This goes against the grain of the heteronormativity, hegemonic masculinity, and misogyny that Fela was well noted for. The circumstances that birth this within this patriarchal republic of Kakulata are written in the book, so get your copy (see comment section for a link to buy the book)
I have constantly vacillated about what to do with this information. Along the grains of unmuting silences and unsettling the archive's power and dominant knowledge, I have often wondered whether I should engage Saidiya Hartman's method of critical fabulation or awaken my artistic and creative impulse to work with a scriptwriter to bring these and many other realities of this fascinating historical spatiality to screen.
As the book continues to expand my understanding of the founder of Afrobeat and the multiplicities of information the author shared in the book, I wonder if Nollywood has attempted any imaginative rendition of not only Fela but Kalakuta itself. I know many documentaries and Broadway shows have been produced. However, what if Nollywood worked with the Queen Mother of Afrobeat, Ms. Izsadore, and other insiders to give visual and artistic renditions.
To be clear, the author of the book did not reference this from a moralizing or homophobic lens but instead offered a unique insight into the complexities of Fela's life, herself, and the many untold stories, labor, sacrifices, and what it cost for Fela to be a revolutionary leader. Specifically, her indispensable role and contribution to a revolution for the Global Black experience that is yet to be realized in our Nigerian postcolony.
I evoke this reference in sharing news about this book review because we sometimes look at an idea, person, or place through one lens without the benefits of the alternative or possibility that may be alongside what we know.
This is the case with the idea of primitive normativity. Primitive normativity is a differentially articulated and mutually constitutive idea that seems benevolent on the surface, given it sees Africans as innocent and vulnerable. Yet, its maleficent goal informs the paternalistic biopolitics that colonized, dispossessed, and controlled colonial subjects in alignment with the imperial vision. Primitive normativity intersects at many points and refers to a common center "as a disenfranchising accusation, rather than an empowering affirmation" (23).
My review of Elizabeth W. Williams. Primitive Normativity: Race, Sexuality, and Temporality in Colonial Kenya. Durham, NC. Duke University Press, 2024 is now published in African Studies Review.
The first ten downloads using this access code are free: 30A906D8A5918A9ED59F4A5D2939445C
By the way, in the last few days, I have heard, read, or seen, " I am chosen! I am chosen! Where is the power of my pastor, power?"
This reaffirms my conviction that the imbrication of Pentecostalism and popular culture is a minefield not from the lens of those Prof. Obadare called Lagos-Ibadan Pastors but from those on the margins seeking to center themselves in public imagination like the Pentecostal pantheons.
