Master Cartoonist, Fatunla Opens Up on His ‘Burna Boy’ Art Project, Afrobeats

Yinka Olatunbosun

Tayo Fatunla, a British-born Nigerian comic artist, editorial cartoonist, writer and illustrator whose Fela artwork is prominently featured in the video for the global hit song ‘Ye’ by Grammy award-winning Afrofusion artist Burna Boy opens up on his project in a recent virtual encounter.

Best-known for his educational comic and cartoon features such as ‘Our Roots’ (1989), ‘Hooked’ (2015) and ‘Spirit of Lagos’ (2015), Fatunla’s cultural understanding of the new sound from Africa and indeed Nigeria came to play at the onset of this artistic engagement.

He recalled how the legendary Afrobeat musician, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti has paved the way for a new generation of artists to break into the international music scene without losing their sense of cultural identity.

“The vibes from “YE” could easily have been composed by Fela,” he began. “I could see him blowing the saxophone to the music and singing it.”

For him, the point of convergence between Fela and Burna Boy is undeniable. The artist couldn’t help but point out how Fela largely influences the sound of Burna Boy.

“Personally, I feel that Burna Boy’s “YE” video pays homage to Fela and his music musically and visually; hence, the prominent use of my image in the video and it works well. Burna has called his style of music ‘Afro-Fusion.”

Further, he explains the role of a visual artist in music interpretation.

“The visual artist’s role is to enhance the video and bring it to life and to know the mind of the musician and to put his thoughts down visually. You see, musicians are storytellers. They can perhaps only sing so they need an artist to come up with a visual for their video or CD/album designs. My good friend and colleague, a cartoonist himself, Ghariokwu Lemi who illustrated and designed most of Fela’s album covers, explained to me how he would go show Fela his concept album design for Fela’s approval.

“With my drawing in the “YE” video, there were ray power lines around FELA’s fists as a take on the superpowers of a comic superhero and in this case indicates BLACK POWER (that aspect was not added in the video). Burna himself when he was a young boy used to draw comic books. His “Twice as Tall” album was accompanied by The Secret Flame, an animated Comic by Burna charting his journey to stardom and shows his love for comics and working with comic artists,” he said.

Fatunla is also credited for his art work in JAY Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail, Draw My Life animated video for Hat trick productions, London and ‘Hooked’ for the BBC.

The artist admitted that some comic works in music history had been great reference points for him.

“I have paid attention to videos like the Jackson Five’s ABC, Stormzy’s “Superheroes”, Paula Abdul’s “Opposite attract”, Michael Jackson’s “Speed Demon” and Ah-Ha’s “Take on me”. Great animation, great music videos.”

Prior to the Burna Boy’s video, Fatunla had done comics on Fela which are well documented in my OUR ROOTS series. But his encounter with Fela is beyond pen on paper.

“Fela’s son Femi went to Lagos Baptist Academy. I was his senior and we as students would see Fela and his entourage when he came to drop Femi off at school or pick him up. I also would travel on my school bus to school and see Fela every day on the balcony of his Kalakuta republic.

“My experiences then helped me in documenting Fela in OUR ROOTS and again for the Guardian U.K newspaper. I also did the short FELAnimation, Sorrow, Tears and Blood during the SARS protest for a Social media platform. I watched Fela’s last concert in Brixton, London whilst I was working for WEST Africa magazine as a visual journalist. I got to meet him again backstage.”

Fatunla usually soaks himself in the music that informs his artwork. He studies it like a movie script.

“I get scripts for stories I need to illustrate. I prefer sounds in the background to peace and quiet for inspiration. But if I commissioned work for something musical, of course I have to. The visual you want to create is nowhere else but in your client’s music. “YE” on Burna’s YouTube channel alone has over 230 million views and is still counting.”

Fatunla is presently working on a couple of book projects and an animation project; updating OUR ROOTS from black and white to colour while planning a second OUR ROOTS animation.

As a Nigerian living in the UK, he watches with interest the growing popularity of Afrobeats.

“Afrobeats music is a global phenomenon and the likes of US artists and producers tapping into Afrobeats has helped propel the music to reach its global popularity. American and British artists and producers such as Michelle Williams, Dave, Stormzy, Beyonce, French Montana, Ed Sheeran, Chris Brown, Rick Ross, and Kanye West, P.Diddy, Dr Dre, Chris Brown, Drake and more have collaborated with many Afrobeats artists including Burna. Funny enough, I laugh when you know many do not understand the words of the Afrobeats songs, but they love the rhythm and the vibes. I remember asking my children if they understood the Afrobeats songs they danced to, they said no.”