TEKNO’S FELA COMMENTS TRIGGER FRESH DEBATE OVER AFROBEATS ORIGINS

Nigerian singer Augustine Okechukwu, popularly known as Tekno, has reignited debate over the history and origins of Afrobeat and Afrobeats after questioning the widely held view that late music icon Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was the sole originator of the sound.

Tekno made the remarks during a Thursday interview on Hot 97, where he discussed Fela’s influence on Nigerian music and argued that other musicians who contributed to the country’s musical heritage deserved greater recognition.

The singer, who grew up in eastern Nigeria, referenced legendary highlife musician Oliver De Coque and other older artistes whose music influenced his understanding of African sounds.

Tekno acknowledged Fela’s enormous contribution, particularly his role in taking Afrobeat to international audiences. However, he argued that Nigeria’s musical history was broader than Fela alone and that several artistes had created influential sounds before and around the period of Fela’s rise.

He said many of the older musicians were not as widely recognised because Fela had a strong international presence, travelled extensively and performed with a band that helped expose his music to audiences around the world.

Tekno’s comments quickly generated reactions on social media, with Nigerians divided over his interpretation of the country’s music history.

Some users supported the singer’s position, arguing that musicians such as Oliver De Coque, Osita Osadebe, Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey made important contributions to the development of Nigerian music and deserved more recognition.

Others, however, criticised Tekno for appearing to blur the distinction between highlife, Afrobeat and contemporary Afrobeats. They argued that Fela should retain recognition as the pioneer of the distinct Afrobeat genre he developed.

Some commentators also pointed out that the contemporary term “Afrobeats” generally refers to a broader fusion of African and global pop sounds, while Fela’s “Afrobeat” is a distinct genre associated with his musical style and social commentary.

A section of those reacting to Tekno’s remarks adopted a middle-ground position, saying the singer had raised a legitimate issue about recognising earlier Nigerian musicians but may not have explained the relationship between the different genres clearly enough.

The controversy has therefore expanded beyond Fela’s legacy to include discussions about the influence of highlife, juju and other African musical traditions on the evolution of modern Nigerian popular music.

Fela remains widely recognised as the pioneer who developed and popularised Afrobeat and took the genre to an international audience. At the same time, the renewed debate has highlighted the contributions of numerous musicians and musical traditions that existed before and alongside his career.

Tekno’s comments have consequently reopened a long-running conversation about how Nigeria’s rich musical history should be documented and which artistes should receive recognition for shaping the sounds that eventually evolved into today’s globally popular Afrobeats movement.