Nigerian singer Augustine Kelechi Okechukwu, popularly known as Tekno, has called for broader recognition of the musicians and musical traditions that contributed to the evolution of Afrobeats.
Tekno made the remarks during a recent interview on Hot 97 while discussing the influence of late Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and the older generation of Nigerian musicians.
Although he acknowledged Fela’s enormous contribution to African music and his role in taking Afrobeat to the international stage, Tekno argued that the history of contemporary Afrobeats should not be attributed to one musician alone.
According to the singer, several Nigerian music legends and indigenous musical traditions helped lay the foundation for the sounds that eventually influenced modern Afrobeats.
Tekno specifically mentioned legendary highlife musician Oliver De Coque, whose music, he said, was part of the sound he grew up listening to in eastern Nigeria.
“They’re legends like Oliver De Coque. He’s a legend that makes pure highlife music, and highlife is also Afrobeats,” Tekno said.
The singer also revealed that his own music has been influenced by Fela’s work, citing his song Rara as an example.
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.
Tekno said Fela deserves enormous credit for helping Nigerian music gain international recognition, but suggested that his global profile may have overshadowed other musicians whose contributions were equally important to Nigeria’s musical heritage.
“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, he said.
The singer explained that his appreciation of older Nigerian music was shaped partly by his father, who introduced him to records by several musicians from previous generations.
“People don’t know them as much, but my dad used to play these records, and it was so many artistes that made it, but Fela gets the credit because he kind of travelled and he had the band that went around the world, Tekno said.
He added that while some people regard Fela as the originator of Afrobeats, he believes the genre’s history involves many other musicians.
To some people, he’s the originator of Afrobeats, but to me, there are a lot of them,” he said.
Fela Kuti is widely recognised as the pioneer of, Afrobeat the distinctive musical genre he developed by combining West African rhythms with jazz, funk and socially and politically conscious lyrics.
His music, performances and international tours played a major role in introducing Afrobeat to audiences around the world and cementing his status as one of Africa’s most influential musicians.
Tekno’s comments, however, focus on the wider musical evolution of Afrobeats, the contemporary Nigerian-led pop sound that developed decades after Fela and drew from a variety of African and global influences.
Highlife, juju, traditional Nigerian rhythms, Afrobeat, R&B, hip-hop and other sounds have all contributed to the development of the modern Nigerian music landscape.
By highlighting Oliver De Coque and other older musicians, Tekno is arguing that discussions about Afrobeats should also acknowledge the generations of artistes whose music influenced the artists who came after them.
His position does not diminish Fela Kuti’s historical importance but instead presents the development of Nigerian popular music as a broader musical journey involving numerous artistes, genres and regional traditions.
As Afrobeats continues to gain global recognition, Tekno believes the contributions of those earlier Nigerian music legends should remain part of the story.
