1918 - Black Times by Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 The responsibility of writing protest songs is hardwired into Seun Kuti’s DNA. The 35-year-old bandleader and saxophonist is the youngest son of Fela Kuti, the Afrobeat pioneer who started his own Movement of the People party, penned lyrics that brazenly took shots at Nigerian politicians and, in the case of “Zombie,” provoked a bloody military attack on the Kalakuta Republic commune and recording facility that he’d founded in Lagos. Channeling this fiery legacy, Seun Kuti’s Black Times, the fourth album he’s recorded in cahoots with his father’s Egypt 80 ensemble, forcefully drives home the infectious protest power of Afrobeat. “Last Revolutionary” sparks the eight-track set into life. Powered by Shinan Abiodun’s furious snares, Oladimeji Akinyele’s trumpet blasts lead the charge as Kuti anoints himself “the walking, talking struggle of my people.” This belief in the power of change pulses through the rest of the album. The title song, which features bluesy, wavering guitar by Carlos Santana, is rooted the idea of learning from history to achieve physical and spiritual of freedom. “Theory of Goat and Yam” pairs pounding bass and live-wire alto-sax blasts with lyrics inspired by the former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who justified embezzlement by comparing it to goats wolfing down yams left tantalizingly within reach. “Corporate Public Control Department (CPCD)” is a funked-up critique of self-serving politicians the world