Fela Kuti and Tony Allen: Musicians who created a new sound
With the band Africa 70, Fela Kuti and Tony Allen developed a whole new genre: Afrobeat. As part of BBC Culture’s Power Pair series, Arwa Haider looks at how Kuti and Allen came up with a musical style that continues to influence today.
In the 1960s, Nigerian drummer Tony Allen joined a band formed by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Fela Kuti. Together, the pair created Afrobeat: drawing on jazz and highlife styles, it went on to influence musicians around the world and across genres.
Arwa Haider interviews Allen and Kuti’s son Femi to find out how the duo developed a whole new rhythm.
Watch the video above to find out more.
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