NIGERIAN SINGER TEKNO CLARIFIES FELA’S PLACE IN HIS MUSICAL JOURNEY AS AFROBEATS ORIGIN DEBATE ERUPTS

 

SINGER TEKNO ACKNOWLEDGES FELA’S GLOBAL IMPACT BUT SAYS HIS OWN MUSICAL UPBRINGING WAS MORE INFLUENCED BY OLIVER DE COQUE AND OTHER EASTERN LEGENDS

 

Nigerian singer Tekno has stirred a fresh debate about the history and evolution of African music after questioning the widely held belief that late music icon Fela Anikulapo-Kuti should be regarded as the sole originator of Afrobeats.

Tekno made the remarks during an interview on Hot 97 in New York, while speaking about his musical upbringing, the artists who influenced him and the development of contemporary African music.

Although a statement circulating online attributes the words, “Fela is not my king and he will never be my king,” to Tekno, that exact wording could not be independently verified from the published reports of the interview. What was reported from his interview was his argument that Fela was not the sole originator of Afrobeats.

Tekno said, “Fela is not the originator of Afrobeats. Lagos people and the Yorubas might say he is the one, but I am from the East, and we had legends like Oliver De Coque.”

The singer, however, did not completely dismiss Fela’s contribution. He acknowledged the late musician’s importance and explained that Fela had played a significant role in taking the Afrobeat sound to international audiences.

Tekno said Fela “stamped the Afrobeat thing on the world map” and described him as a legend.

His comments have since divided public opinion, with some Nigerians applauding him for drawing attention to other pioneers while others believe his argument overlooks the specific history of Fela’s Afrobeat and confuses it with the modern Afrobeats movement.

 

TEKNO EXPLAINS WHY OLIVER DE COQUE HAD A GREATER PERSONAL INFLUENCE ON HIM

For Tekno, the debate is also connected to his personal experience growing up.

The singer explained that his musical taste was shaped largely by the records his father listened to at home, particularly music from Eastern Nigerian highlife legend Oliver De Coque.

“I would say I was more inspired by Oliver De Coque because my dad used to play his records,” Tekno said.

That explanation provides some context for why the singer does not personally place Fela at the centre of his own musical influences.

Tekno’s position appears to be that Nigerian music history is much broader than the story of one musician. He pointed to musicians from different parts of the country whose music, according to him, also contributed to the foundation from which later Nigerian popular music developed.

He also suggested that Fela received greater international recognition partly because of his extensive travels and performances outside Nigeria.

“Fela gets the credit because he kind of travelled and had the band and went around the world,” Tekno said.

The comment has consequently raised another question: whether international visibility has influenced which Nigerian musicians receive the most recognition when the history of African music is discussed.

 

TEKNO ADMITS FELA INFLUENCED HIS OWN MUSIC

Despite challenging Fela’s position in the history of Afrobeats, Tekno acknowledged that the late musician’s work has influenced him.

The singer specifically mentioned his song “Rara,” explaining that the record was heavily inspired by Fela.

“My song ‘Rara’ is heavily inspired by Fela because I heard his tune and he is a legend,” Tekno said.

This part of the interview has become particularly significant because it shows that Tekno’s argument was not simply that Fela had no influence on him.

Rather, he was making a distinction between personal inspiration and who should receive historical credit for the development of African music.

Tekno can therefore acknowledge Fela’s importance while still maintaining that his own childhood musical influences came from elsewhere.

The timeline also makes such a direct confrontation impossible in the circumstances being suggested.

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti died on August 2, 1997, while Tekno was born on December 17, 1992. Tekno was therefore only a child when Fela died.

The 2026 controversy came from Tekno’s comments during his Hot 97 interview and the reaction that followed online. It was not a documented response to a recent statement from Fela.

 

FELA’S LEGACY GOES BEYOND A SINGLE GENRE LABEL

Fela remains one of the most influential figures in African music history.

Born in Abeokuta, Nigeria, in 1938, he developed Afrobeat by bringing together African rhythms with elements of jazz, funk, soul and other musical traditions.

His music was also deeply political. Fela used his songs to criticise military rule, corruption, oppression and other social problems in Nigeria.

His influence eventually spread beyond Nigeria, with his music reaching audiences across Africa and internationally.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame describes Fela as an Afrobeat pioneer and recognises his role in developing a distinctive sound that brought together West African musical traditions and influences from African-American music.

His legacy has also continued through his children, including musicians Femi Kuti and Seun Kuti, who have carried different aspects of his musical tradition into later generations.

 

AFROBEAT AND AFROBEATS ARE NOT THE SAME THING

One of the most important issues underneath the controversy is the difference between Afrobeat and Afrobeats.

Fela’s Afrobeat, without the letter “s,” refers to the distinctive genre he helped develop, characterised by long musical arrangements, African rhythms, jazz and funk influences and socially and politically conscious lyrics.

Afrobeats, with the “s,” generally refers to the contemporary West African popular music movement that became increasingly prominent from the late 1990s and 2000s and later achieved enormous international success. The two are related, but they are not identical.

Modern Afrobeats has absorbed influences from highlife, hip-hop, R&B, dancehall, pop, reggae and other African and global sounds.

This distinction is important because a statement about the origin of Afrobeat is not automatically the same as a statement about the origin of Afrobeats.

Much of the online argument following Tekno’s interview has centred on this difference.

 

THE ROLE OF OLIVER DE COQUE AND OTHER NIGERIAN MUSIC LEGENDS

Tekno’s mention of Oliver De Coque has also pushed another part of Nigerian music history into the conversation.

Oliver De Coque was one of the country’s most prominent highlife musicians, particularly associated with Eastern Nigeria. His music became popular across Nigeria and beyond, and his guitar-driven style became an important part of Nigerian highlife.

Other musicians, including Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe, Bobby Benson, Victor Olaiya, Rex Lawson, King Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey, also occupy important places in Nigeria’s musical history, although they belonged to different musical traditions and periods.

For supporters of Tekno’s argument, recognising these musicians does not mean reducing Fela’s contribution. Instead, they believe Nigerian music history should be presented as a story involving several musicians, regions and musical traditions.

 

SUPPORTERS SAY TEKNO HAS OPENED AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION

Some Nigerians who supported Tekno’s comments argued that the country’s musical history should not be reduced to Fela alone.

They praised the singer for mentioning Oliver De Coque and other musicians whose contributions are sometimes less prominent in international discussions of Nigerian music.

Supporters also argued that the conversation could encourage younger Nigerians to explore older records and understand how different Nigerian musical traditions developed.

For them, Tekno’s comments were less about disrespecting Fela and more about challenging what they see as an overly simplified version of African music history.

Some also pointed out that an artist can respect a legendary musician without necessarily considering that musician his biggest personal influence.

 

CRITICS SAY TEKNO’S ARGUMENT MISSES THE HISTORICAL DISTINCTION

Not everyone agreed with Tekno.

Critics argued that Fela’s contribution should be assessed specifically within the history of Afrobeat, rather than by comparing his work directly with every form of Nigerian popular music.

Some accused Tekno of blurring the lines between highlife, Afrobeat and contemporary Afrobeats.

Others questioned the use of Oliver De Coque as evidence in an argument about the origin of Afrobeat, pointing out that being an influential Nigerian musician does not necessarily mean being one of the founders of Fela’s specific musical genre.

Some online commenters also felt that describing Fela as merely one of several contributors could understate his distinctive role in developing and popularising Afrobeat.

 

NEUTRAL VIEWERS SEE TWO DIFFERENT ARGUMENTS

Some observers have taken a middle position.

They argue that two things can be true at the same time: Fela can be a foundational figure in Afrobeat, while other Nigerian musicians can also deserve greater recognition for their own contributions to the country’s wider musical history.

From this perspective, Tekno’s personal statement about being more influenced by Oliver De Coque is different from making a definitive historical claim about who originated a particular genre.

These observers believe the conversation would be more productive if Nigerians separated personal musical preferences from documented music history.

They also point out that modern Afrobeats did not emerge from one musician alone. It developed through several generations of Nigerian and West African artistes, producers, sounds and cultural influences.

 

TEKNO’S OWN CAREER SHOWS HOW THE SOUND HAS EVOLVED

Tekno’s career itself represents a later stage in the development of Nigerian popular music.

Born Augustine Miles Kelechi Okechukwu, the singer grew into prominence through songs such as “Duro,” “Pana” and other commercially successful records.

His music combines elements of contemporary Afrobeats, pop, R&B and other modern influences.

His career therefore belongs to a generation that benefited from the international expansion of Nigerian popular music.

That development has itself been connected to earlier generations of musicians, including Fela, highlife musicians and other Nigerian pioneers.

Tekno’s comments have therefore created an interesting historical circle: an artist from the modern Afrobeats generation is now publicly discussing the musicians who came before him and questioning how their contributions should be remembered.

 

A DEBATE ABOUT HISTORY, INFLUENCE AND RECOGNITION

In summary, Tekno’s interview has opened another chapter in the continuing conversation about the roots of Nigerian music.

While the singer challenged the idea that Fela should be regarded as the sole originator of Afrobeats, he also acknowledged Fela as a legend, recognised his international impact and admitted that his own song “Rara” was heavily inspired by the late musician.

His personal preference for Oliver De Coque and other Eastern Nigerian musicians reflects his own upbringing, but the wider historical question requires a distinction between highlife, Fela’s Afrobeat and contemporary Afrobeats.

Ultimately, the controversy has given Nigerians an opportunity to look beyond a single name and examine the many musicians, traditions and generations that have contributed to the country’s rich musical history.

Fela’s place in the history of Afrobeat remains significant, while the contributions of other Nigerian music pioneers can also be examined and recognised without necessarily placing the musicians in competition with one another.

 

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