According to this UK article, Carlos Moore, the only official biographer of Fela Kuti, is suing Bill T. Jones and Fela! playwright Jim Lewis for $5 million for basing the highly successful Broadway musical (that’s set to open on London’s West End on November 16th) on his book without properly crediting it, and by buying the rights to the book for only $4,000, which he considers “grossly insufficient.” Moore also claims the show was made without his “knowledge, authorisation, or consent.”
But if they bought the rights… ? I don’t know; will be interesting to see how it plays out in court, though it’ll probably settle outside. Will also be interesting to see what the Brits think of the show.
Image taken from here.
