Fela Anikulapo Kuti (15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), or just Fela, was a Nigerian musician and composer who was very important in a genre called afrobeat. He played the saxophone, guitar, drums, keyboards and trumpet, and he sang. He was also a human rights activist. The American singer James Brown said that Kuti was one of the originators (starters) of the funk genre.