# Fela Ransome-Kuti & Africa 70 — Shakara

Fela Ransome-Kuti & Africa 70’s Shakara (1972) appears on 2 of our lists — Afrobeat and The Waxonia Desk — One Subject, highest at No. 3 in Afrobeat. Every verdict, in full.

- **Released:** 1972
- **Label:** EMI
- **On:** Afrobeat and The Waxonia Desk — One Subject
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Artist:** [Fela Ransome-Kuti & Africa 70](https://waxonia.com/artist/fela-ransome-kuti-and-africa-70/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/fela-ransome-kuti-and-africa-70--shakara/

## What 2 lists say

### No. 3 in [Afrobeat](https://waxonia.com/genre/afrobeat/)

The template arriving fully formed: a fifteen-minute instrumental build, then the vocal, then the argument. Afrobeat's structure is settled here and barely changes afterwards.

### Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — One Subject](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-one-subject/)

Fifteen minutes before the vocal arrives. Programming a record like this for an audience trained to expect a hook inside thirty seconds is the whole problem, and it is worth solving.

## Analysis

8 sections, the first drop of 2 at 1:44, 38% of the way in, 15% of it spent climbing.

- **Tempo:** 117.5 BPM — holds throughout
- **Dynamic range:** 8.2 dB — moderate range, typical of a modern master
- **Length:** 4:29

- `0:00` A · **intro**, sung — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: drums, bass, vocals
- `0:44` B · **peak** (bar 22), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals
- `1:03` C · **breakdown** (bar 31), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: vocals
- `1:45` B · **peak** (bar 52), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `2:43` C · **breakdown** (bar 80), sung — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: vocals
- `3:18` B · **build** (bar 97), sung — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `3:59` B · **peak** (bar 117), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `4:13` A · **outro** (bar 124), sung — the closing fall — playing: vocals

**Drops** at 1:44 (bar 51), 3:17 (bar 97). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Fela%20Ransome-Kuti%20%26%20Africa%2070%20Shakara) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=P2l7EPy1Svs)

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