Nigerian singer Augustine Kelechi Okechukwu, popularly known as Tekno, has stirred conversation by arguing that late Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti should not be regarded as the sole creator or originator of the sound. Speaking in a recent interview on Hot 97, Tekno acknowledged Fela's role in bringing Afrobeat to the global stage but insisted that several other legends also contributed significantly to Nigeria's musical heritage.
Tekno credits highlife legends like Oliver De Coque
Tekno explained that his upbringing in the eastern part of Nigeria exposed him to highlife music, with highlife legend Oliver De Coque among the musicians whose records he listened to while growing up. According to Tekno, highlife forms part of the musical traditions that contributed to the sound associated with Afrobeats, although that connection does not receive enough attention.
“They’re legends like Oliver De Coque. He’s a legend that makes pure highlife music, and highlife is also Afrobeats,” Tekno said. He added, “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.”
Fela's global impact and the overlooked contributors
The singer acknowledged Fela's enormous contribution to taking Afrobeat to international audiences but argued that the recognition attached to him has sometimes overshadowed other musicians who made important contributions to Nigeria's musical heritage.
“He (Fela) 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. “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 traveled and he 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.”
The broader musical history behind Afrobeats
Fela Kuti remains widely recognised as the pioneer of Afrobeat, a genre he developed through a fusion of West African musical traditions, jazz, funk and politically charged songwriting. His music and performances helped take Afrobeat beyond Nigeria and established him as one of Africa’s most influential musicians.
Tekno’s argument, however, centres on the broader musical history behind contemporary Afrobeats. He points to highlife and other Nigerian musical traditions as part of the foundation from which later sounds developed. For Tekno, the global rise of Afrobeats should not erase the contributions of earlier generations of musicians whose records influenced the sound and musicians who came after them.
