Fela Kuti – Shuffering and Shmiling

"Shuffering and Shmiling" is a song by Fela Kuti, released in 1978 as the title track of an album recorded the previous year with his band Africa 70, on the Nigerian Coconut label. Spanning over twenty minutes across two parts, one instrumental and one vocal, the track criticized Christianity and Islam for encouraging the poor to accept earthly suffering in exchange for a promised reward in heaven, while religious leaders lived in comparative opulence. Kuti recorded the album not long after the Nigerian army had burned down his Kalakuta Republic compound in retaliation for the political criticism on his earlier album Zombie. AllMusic later compared its intensity to that of his other Africa 70 recordings from the decade, including Confusion and Gentleman.