The hand-numbered 4×LP set, limited to 1,000 copies with lacquers cut by Cicely Balston, arrives during Felabration in the year Fela became the first African artist to receive the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award.
ST. LOUIS, Oct. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Vinyl Me, Please (VMP) today released The Best of the Black President, a hand-numbered 4×LP Fela Kuti box set first announced in 2024 and never shipped. The release lands on October 15, which would have been Fela's 88th birthday.
Fela Anikulapo Kuti created Afrobeat in Lagos in the late 1960s and 1970s, fusing highlife, jazz, funk and Yoruba rhythm into long, hypnotic songs that denounced the corruption and brutality of Nigeria's military rulers. He paid for it. After "Zombie" mocked the army, soldiers raided and burned his compound, the Kalakuta Republic, in 1977. He kept recording anyway. His influence now runs through hip-hop, jazz and the global Afrobeats wave, and this year he became the first African artist to receive the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award.
The box was announced under VMP's previous ownership and was never delivered. VNYL Inc., which has operated VMP since 2025, completed production and licensed the release from Partisan Records.
"It's impossible not to be moved by how much Fela Kuti risked for his music," said Nick Alt, CEO of VMP. "He made some of the most fearless recordings of the last century. This box deserved to exist, so we finished it. His birthday is the right day to put it out."
The box set arrives during Felabration, the annual festival held in his honor in Lagos.
About the box
The Best of the Black President is a 4×LP set housed in full-color jackets and pressed on 180g black vinyl, with a "Fela for President" bumper sticker. The VMP edition is a hand-numbered run of 1,000, with lacquers cut by two-time MPG Mastering Engineer of the Year Cicely Balston.
Offer details
- Price: $149 for a three-month VMP membership
- Box set value: $179
- Included: The Best of the Black President as the first record of the membership, followed by two additional months
- Renewal: Auto-renews at $149 every three months
- Availability: US
- How to join: Text 'VMP' to (314) 300-9979, then enter album code 101538
For more information, text "VMP" to (314) 300-9979 or visit vinylmeplease.com.
About Vinyl Me, Please (VMP)
Founded in 2012, Vinyl Me, Please (VMP) is the Best Damn Record Club, producing exclusive vinyl editions in partnership with artists and labels. VMP works directly with rights holders to create records that exist nowhere else — pressed with audiophile-grade care, thoughtfully packaged, and delivered to listeners who take music seriously. Through limited pressings, curated releases, and a renewed focus on essential albums across genres, VMP connects music fans with records that deserve to be held, heard, and cherished.
Media Contact
VMP Press, Vinyl Me, Please, 1 3143009979, [email protected], https://vinylmeplease.com
SOURCE Vinyl Me, Please
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