Grammy-nominated artists Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 will release their new song: “Stand Well Well,” on streaming platforms September 10.
It is a scorching Afrobeat track inspired by English author Aldous Huxley’s 1932 dystopian novel Brave New World, which is set in a futuristic world where citizens are arranged into social hierarchy challenged by the protagonist.
“I wanted to throw a jab at what society looks like to me,” Seun explains. “Everything in the world today looks the same. Everybody likes the same stuff and does the same things. It reminds me of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. A lot of people talk about George Orwell’s 1984 as a prediction of our times, but I don’t think he was as accurate. He was far from accurate, but Brave New World was accurate because I see it in my everyday life.”
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“Stand Well Well” is the third and final single from the band’s
upcoming album Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head), which will be
available via Milan-based label Record Kicks [2] October 4. The first
two singles, “Dey (featuring Damian Marley)” and “T.O.P.”, have
already hit international airwaves on stations like BBC Radio 6 Music,
KCRW, KEXP, Radio France Internationale (RFI), France Inter Paris (FIP),
RadioEINS, Cool FM Nigeria, Wazobia FM, and more. Their European & UK
“Heavier Yet” Tour in support of the album will kick off October 10
and hit 30 cities through December 14.
Seun is a musician, singer, and songwriter based in Lagos, Nigeria who
is renowned for his captivating global performances and socially
conscious music. He is the youngest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti
and has spent most of his life preserving and extending his father’s
political and musical legacy. He entered the ranks of Fela’s band
Egypt 80 as a developing saxophonist and percussionist before the age of
12, and, in fulfilment of his father’s wishes, he assumed the mantle as
head of the band when Fela passed in 1997. Seun has led them ever since;
they rehearse at Fela’s former home, which is now the Kalakuta Museum.
Seun has also made his mark as a political activist and voice for the
people of Nigeria, primarily via social media platforms. He was a
participant in the Occupy Nigeria and #EndSARS protests and has revived
Movement of the People (M.O.P.), a political party established by his
father in 1979 that was quashed by the military government shortly after
Fela’s failed presidential bid.
Seun has released four albums during his career with Egypt 80: _Many
Things_ (2008); _From Africa With Fury: Rise_ (2011), which was
co-produced by Brian Eno and John Reynolds; _A Long Way to the
Beginning_ (2014); and Grammy-nominated _Black Times_ (2018), which
includes a feature from Carlos Santana. He has also joined forces with
countless notable artists, including Janelle Monae on the singles
“Float” and “Knows Better” from her Grammy-nominated album _The
Age of Pleasure _(2023); Talib Kweli and Madlib on the song “Nat
Turner,” which features Cassper Nyovest, from their album _Liberation
2_ (2023); The Roots’ co-founder and emcee Black Thought on their EP
African Dreams(2022); and Vic Mensa on the record “Bad Man Lighter
2.0,” which is a new version of Seun and Black Thought’s hip-hop
remix of a single from Black Times.
The Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 song “Dey”, which is a collaboration with
reggae icon and four-time Grammy Award-winner Damian Marley that
released June 26, has been submitted for consideration in the Best
African Music Performance category of the 2025 Grammy Awards. The track
is produced by a dream team of top-tier artists, including superstar
Lenny Kravitz (executive producer) and original Fela Kuti and Egypt 80
engineer Sodi Marciszewer (artistic producer), and marks an historic
moment for African art and unity. The record was made available on a
limited edition 7” vinyl September 6.
