Afrobeats singer Tekno has spoken about the roots of Afrobeat and Afrobeats, arguing that Fela Anikulapo-Kuti should not be credited as the sole originator of the sound.
Speaking in an interview on US radio station Hot 97, the Rara hitmaker acknowledged Fela’s global impact but argued that several Nigerian pioneers played key roles in shaping the country’s music before him.
Tekno, who grew up in eastern Nigeria, said his early exposure to highlife music shaped his view of African music.
He singled out the late Oliver De Coque as an example.
‘They’re legends like Oliver De Coque. He’s a legend who makes pure highlife music, and highlife is also Afrobeats,’ he said.
The singer admitted Fela’s influence on his own work, revealing that his 2022 single Rara was ‘heavily inspired’ by the Afrobeat legend.
‘I have a record of mine, Rara, that is really big and is heavily inspired by Fela because I heard his tune as well and he’s a legend,’ Tekno said.
However, he maintained that Fela’s international tours and band gave him an advantage in recognition over his contemporaries.
‘He obviously stamped the Afrobeats thing on the world map, but we have some other legends who sang very good music that, if you heard it today, you wouldn’t even believe those songs were made in those times.
‘People don’t know them as much, but my dad used to play these records, and there were so many artistes who made them, but Fela gets the credit because he travelled and had the band that went around the world.
‘To some people, he’s the originator of Afrobeats, but to me, there are a lot of them,’ he said.