SEUN Kuti, a musician, and son of music icon, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, has said his father solely created Afrobeat.
Debunking claims that late Tony Allen, who was Fela’s drummer boy, co-created the musical genre alongside the Shakara singer, Seun noted that journalists have been feeding members of the public lies.
Supporting his claim with fact, Seun shared an interview he had with Lekan Animashaun, a saxophonist and member of Fela’s Egypt 80 band, where the latter weighed into the debate on who created afrobeat.
“Fela composed all his music, including the drum patterns,” Animashaun said.
Sharing the interview on Instagram, Seun wrote; “When I heard the lies by journalists that Tony Allen co-created Afrobeat, I had to call the only living witness to the creation of the music and I asked him a simple question, who composed all the parts of the music and here was the legendary Lekan Animashaun’s straight forward answer. Case closed.”
Afrobeat is a music genre popularised by Fela. Since it has been created, the genre which now has new faces in Nigeria’s music industry and Africa’s at large, involves the combination of elements of West African musical styles, with American funk and jazz influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting rhythms, and percussion.
What do you enjoy most about the beat?