Yellow Fever (1976):

The title track, “Yellow Fever”, is a scathing criticism of post-colonial Nigerians who cannot shake their “colonial mentality”. Fela rails on women who bleach their skin as an act of beauty, contemptuously adding that, despite what they think, it only makes them less attractive. The second track of the album is the notorious “Na Poi” (loosely translating to “things collide”) which was banned by the Nigerian Broadcasting Company for its explicit, socially shocking sexual references. As Fela jams out, the song becomes a veritable “how-to” guide to sex, including allusions to motion and lubrication, among other taboo details.

Na Poi (1976):

The “Na Poi” album contains a later version of Fela’s scandalous hit “Na Poi”, in which Fela details what happens between a man and a woman behind closed doors. Originally banned by the Nigerian Broadcasting Company for its taboo sexual lyrics, the version on this eponymous album interchanges spoken word and sung lyrics over the Africa 70 horn play, spanning not only the complete a-side of the record, but the first part of the b-side as well – clocking in over 25 minutes. The record finishes with “You No Go Die….Unless”, a hard-hitting funk tune that displays Fela’s bravado as he instructs people not to fear death, because, he explains, they won’t die until they’re ready to die. Again Fela is playing provocateur to the ruling regime, essentially announcing his fearlessness in the face of their brutality.