Tekno opens up about Fela Kuti’s Afrobeats legacy, giving credit to highlife legend Oliver De Coque and other unsung Nigerian music greats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s something that’s got people talking this week: Tekno just said Fela Kuti didn’t build Afrobeats alone. And honestly? He might be onto something.
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Speaking on Hot 97, the singer shared that growing up in eastern Nigeria meant he grew up on highlife music, not just Fela’s sound. One name he kept coming back to was Oliver De Coque, the highlife legend whose records used to play in his dad’s house.
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“They’re legends like Oliver De Coque. He’s a legend that makes pure highlife music, and highlife is also Afrobeats,” Tekno said.
That’s the whole point he’s making, really. Highlife, in his view, is part of the same family tree that gave us the Afrobeats we stream today. It just doesn’t get talked about as much.
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Now, before anyone thinks Tekno is trying to erase Fela’s legacy, he made it clear that’s not what this is about. He knows exactly how big Fela’s shadow is. He even admitted that his own hit song, Rara, was heavily inspired by Fela’s music.
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But here’s where it gets interesting. Tekno thinks Fela gets more credit than he deserves, not because his music wasn’t great, but because he had the exposure others didn’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n