The Nigerian composer and activist Fela Kuti left an indelible imprint on popular music worldwide by pioneering Afrobeat in the ‘70s and '80s—classics like “Zombie” brilliantly combine elements of jazz, West African highlife and James Brown's funk, resulting in a sound stuffed with powerful rhythms and political fury. Contemporaries Ebo Taylor and Orlando Julius offered their own takes on Afrobeat with languid grooves and even disco elements, and longtime Fela percussionist Tony Allen has become an institution unto himself as a solo artist and songwriter. Bands like Antibalas maintain the spirit of the genre as they carry it into the future.