Timaya pays tribute to Fela
Singer Timaya said that Nigerian music would not have been popular today without the contributions of the late Afro‑beat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo‑Kuti. He made the comments during an episode of the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast.
Timaya praised Fela’s global influence, noting that the late musician is “honoured like a god” in Cameroon and that a weekend radio programme there is dedicated entirely to his music. “Without Fela, nobody would have known us and we wouldn’t be here singing music,” he told the podcast.
“I call him Baba because he didn’t inspire only me and other Nigerians, go to Cameroon they honour his name like God. They even have a radio programme on weekends where they only play his music. Fela is the greatest man I can’t never in my life disrespect him nor his family,” he said.
In a separate interview with Yanga FM Lagos, Afrobeats singer Tekno reaffirmed that he does not consider Fela his “king” of Nigerian music. Tekno said he grew up in Kaduna as an Igbo and had never heard of Fela’s music.
“Fela is not and will never be my king [of music]. Oliver De Coque is the king for me,” he stated.
Fela Anikulapo‑Kuti is widely regarded as the founder of Afro‑beat, a genre that has shaped the sound of contemporary Nigerian music and inspired countless artists across the continent.
<small>Source: Daily Post Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
