No Agreement (1977):

“No Agreement” showcases some of Fela and the Africa 70’s highest caliber work within the signature Afrobeat genre. Smooth guitar parts and a pronounced brass section (which included the addition of Art Ensemble of Chicago trumpeter Lester Bowie), improv solos on the sax, and backed by excellent organ and trumpet and Fela’s keen lyrical insight, “No Agreement” hits all the right parts. Lyrically the track “No Agreement” can be likened to Peter Tosh’s “Never Gonna Give Up” – Fela will never reach an agreement or compromise with the oppressive forces that fight against progressive social change and the psychological liberation of post-colonial Africans. Fela asks himself, essentially, “how can I remain silent when my brother is hungry and homeless?” His answer: I cannot. The album concludes with Dog Eat Dog, an instrumental piece whose name refers to the metaphorical rat race.

Shuffering and Shmiling (1978):

As Fela progressed as an artist, he evolved into a political and social tour de force in Nigeria. In “Shuffering and Shmiling”, an expansive track spanning two sides and reaching over 20 minutes in length, Fela takes on the subject of religion, denouncing the two religions of the colonial masters, Christianity and Islam, which he believed helped sustain passivity in the downtrodden masses. Fela rejects the idea of suffering on earth with the hope of finding happiness in heaven, and points out that the leaders who espouse these beliefs often live hypocritically in opulence. Instead, Fela urges the embrace of traditional African beliefs.