Apple has featured the 1971 classic “Let’s Start” by Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti in its global promotional campaign for the new MacBook Air M5.
The Campaign Details
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The Song: “Let’s Start” is the opening track from Fela Kuti’s 1971 live album, Live!, recorded in London with his band Africa ’70 and legendary British drummer Ginger Baker.
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The Visuals: The ad, titled “Tabs,” uses the racy Afrobeat rhythm to showcase the laptop’s ability to handle heavy multitasking and creative workflows with ease.
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Timing: The placement follows Fela Kuti’s historic posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in February 2026, where he became the first African artist to receive the honor.
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Fela Kuti Live with the African 70 Band & Ginger Baker
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MacBook Air M5 Highlights
The promotional video highlights several key upgrades for the latest iteration of Apple’s most popular laptop:
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Performance: Powered by the new M5 chip, featuring AI performance reportedly up to 9 times faster than previous models.
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Battery Life: Offers up to 18 hours of usage.
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Base Specs: Now shipping with 16GB of unified memory and 512GB of storage as the standard starting configuration.
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Variants: Available in both 13-inch and 15-inch sizes.
For many, the use of Fela’s music in such a high-profile tech launch is seen as a major symbolic recognition of Afrobeat’s enduring global legacy and commercial power.
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