‘I Didn’t Grieve After My Mom Died’ – Seun Kuti On How The Death Of His Father, Fela Took A Toll On Him And How He Later Coped With It

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Fela Anikulapo Kuti's youngest son has opened up about how he dealt with losing his parents.

When Seun Kuti lost both of his parents, he was only 14 and 24, respectively. In an interview with prominent media figure Chude Jideonwo, Seun claimed that, in contrast to the late Afrobeat icon, he never found true closure following the death of his mother Fehintola.

He added that because he was on a music tour at the time, he was unable to grieve his mother's death in a way that was appropriate.

He claimed that because his father was the closest person to him, he grieved for a very long time. He continued talking after that about his relationship with his late father.

The 40-year-old singer, a parent of one, said that his father's passing was "impactful," comparing it to losing a best friend and a family member at the same time. He lost his mother in 2017 and his father in 1997.

He emphasized that their relationship was not the same as that of his elder siblings. Playfully, he said that he had felt sorry for his older siblings because their father had become a more relaxed version of himself since their birth.

 

“The one I didn’t grieve was my mom. I had a tour. There was no time to break down. If I’m going to share some of my mental issues on your show, it’s like I think I’m grieving my mom in stages; kind of, I’ve not really had time to really delve into that, but the bad part is past, and I still grieve her from time to time. I don’t have complete closure for my mom like I do for my dad.”

Seun said:

“Fela was a model father; he was very different from the stories I heard of my elder ones. I feel bad for them. I can’t lie. I tell them all the time, I enjoyed it for you guys.

Trust me, I held it down. I did not slack. By the time he had me, he was 44; he was always home, so my relationship with him was very different from that of my siblings very, very different. I know that for a fact.”

Seun talked about the emotional toll that his father's death had on him, including how hard it was for him to move past the devastating loss and find healing.

He claimed that because no one was as close to him as he was, losing his father was a different kind of pain from which he had not yet fully recovered. He continued by saying that he grieved for a long time because the loss was so great for him.

Seun added:

“I grieved for my dad because he was the closest person to me, and he was the first person I know that died, so for me, it was a really impactful experience losing my dad; it was like losing my best friend, my dad, and a family member, all in one. I really grieved for a long time. I grieved for my dad.”

In August, Seun and his siblings paid tributes to their father on his 26th death anniversary. The singer shared a video of his late mum singing in a 2018 remembrance post and wrote “RIP mama”.

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