Nigerian singer Augustine Kelechi, popularly known as Tekno, has called for wider recognition of the musicians and musical traditions that contributed to the development of Afrobeats, arguing that the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti should not be regarded as its sole originator.
Pulse Nigeria reports that Tekno made the remarks during a recent interview on Hot 97, where he spoke about the different musicians and musical traditions that have contributed to the development of Nigerian music. While acknowledging Fela’s influence and global impact, he argued that other legendary artistes also deserve recognition for their contributions.
The singer particularly mentioned highlife legend Oliver De Coque, whose music he said formed part of the musical environment he was exposed to while growing up in eastern Nigeria. Tekno said highlife is among the Nigerian musical traditions that contributed to the sound now associated with Afrobeats.
“They’re legends like Oliver De Coque. He’s a legend that makes pure highlife music, and highlife is also Afrobeats,” Tekno said.
His comments also highlight the contributions of different musicians and genres to the sound that has evolved into what is now known as Afrobeats.
He also acknowledged Fela’s influence on his own music, citing his song ‘Rara’ as an example of a record inspired by the Afrobeat pioneer.
“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,” he said.
While crediting Fela with taking Afrobeat to an international audience, Tekno maintained that other Nigerian legends also produced music that remains relevant and impressive decades after it was recorded.
“He obviously stamped the Afrobeats thing on the world map, but we have some other legends that sang very good music that if you heard today, you wouldn’t even believe that those songs were made in those times,” Tekno said.
The singer added that his perspective was influenced by the records his father played while he was growing up. He noted that several musicians contributed to Nigeria’s musical history, even as Fela became one of the country’s most internationally recognised musical figures.
“To some people, he’s the originator of Afrobeats, but to me, there are a lot of them,” Tekno said.
