Nigerian singer, Augustine Miles Kelechi, popularly known as Tekno, has stirred controversy with his claim that the late Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, was not the originator of the genre as widely believed.
Speaking in a recent interview with Hot 97 FM in New York, Tekno argued that several music legends contributed significantly to the development of Afrobeats, noting that Fela should not be regarded as the sole originator.
He specifically cited highlife musician Oliver De Coque as one of the artistes whose contributions were also instrumental to the evolution of the sound.
He claimed that Fela took “all the credits” because he was more travelled and “opportune.”
He explained that Fela was a legend who contributed immensely to the genre, but that others also deserved some credit.
“Fela is not the originator of Afrobeats. Lagos people and the Yorubas might say he is the one, but I am from the East, and we had legends like Oliver De Coque. Oliver De Coque made pure highlife music. Highlife is also Afrobeats.
“My song ‘Rara’ is heavily inspired by Fela because I heard his music while growing up. He is a legend. He was the one who took Afrobeat international. But there are other people that we listen to. In the East, we had some legends who sang some type of music that, if you heard today, you wouldn’t believe was made in those times.
“I feel like these legends deserved more recognition. I would say I was more inspired by Oliver De Coque and his peers from the East. My dad used to play his music a lot.
“Fela gets all the credit because he travelled and performed with his band around the world. To some people, he is the originator of Afrobeats, but to me, there are a bunch of them— legends that no one speaks about,” Tekno said.
