Femi Kuti disputes claims that Tony Allen co-created Afrobeat with Fela
According to Grammy-nominated Afrobeat icon Femi Kuti, legendary drummer Tony Allen wasn’t involved in creating the sound with his late father and Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti.
In a recent interview, Femi Kuti tagged the claim that Tony Allen assisted Fela in creating Afrobeat as “the biggest lie ever told against his father”.
“Yes, he was a good drummer, but Fela taught him his style of drums. Fele gave him all his drum patterns,” Femi Kuti said, recalling how he saw his father structure the drums and sounds of Afrobeat both as a child and a teenager.
Femi Kuti shares that Fela’s creative process involves assembling the drummer, percussionist, rhythm, tenor, and bass guitarists, and they play for about a week before he calls on the singers and other additional instruments.
Femi Kuti has previously disputed this claim in the past after he was forced to reply an American journalist in 2027 who claimed Tony Allen co-created Afrobeats.
In the interview, Femi Kuti stated that there’s no credible source that quotes Fela Kuti crediting the creation of Afrobeat to Tony Allen.
In Fela Kuti’s most popular biography “The Bitch of A Life” by Carlos Moore, there was no mention of Tony Allen’s contribution to creating Afrobeat.
“Nobody can tell us about Fela because we were there. We saw the beating, the imprisonment,” Femi Kuti stated on witnessing the persecution his father suffered in the hands of the military government he constantly criticised.
Femi Kuti also shared that Fela was a sound engineer who assisted Tony Allen in putting together his composition.
During his time with Fela, Tony Allen was a part of over 30 albums released by the legendary Afrobeat icon, who is regarded among the most distinguished musicians and personalities from Africa.
