As the youngest son of legendary Nigerian artist Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti, singer, multi-instrumentalist and politician Seun Kuti is intimately familiar with the intersections of music and activism. Assuming the mantle as the head of his father’s band Egpyt 80, Seun Kuti has preserved and extended its mission to document both historic and emerging struggles of people not only in Nigeria but also in ways that relate to the entire continent. “Afrobeat music is a representation of the true reality of African people,” Seun Kuti tells Apple Music. “It’s where we find our joy in the struggle for our liberation, and the restoration of our dignity. Our music represents all that is lost and all that must be reclaimed. And the genre today has played a great role in the success of African music generally. As I always say, Africans are not a monolithic people. So this music has been able to show the cultural and political consciousness of African people.” To honour the both the melodies and messages contained within Afrobeat music, and how they continue to impact and give rise to new movements in African music today, Kuti assembles a playlist of the genre’s most influential songs, including tracks by Fela Kuti, Tony Allen, Eboy Taylor, Uhuru Yenzu, Dele Sosimi, Ofege, William Onyeabor, Manu Dibango and more. When it comes to the genre’s legacy and how it inspires new forms of musical expression and political consciousness, Kuti remains hopeful. “I think a lot of young artists today are building on the different energy and the style, as it must be,” he explains. “I always believe that African young people have a right to define themselves how they see fit, standing on the shoulders of those that have come before them.”