Nigerian singer Augustine Miles Kelechi, popularly known as Tekno, has challenged the popular belief that late music legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was the sole originator of Afrobeats, saying other Nigerian musicians also played important roles in the development of the sound.

Tekno made the comment during an interview on HOT 97, where he spoke about Fela’s influence on Nigerian music and the musicians who shaped his own musical background.

The singer, who grew up in eastern Nigeria, pointed to late highlife musician Oliver De Coque as one of the artists he believes deserves more recognition. He said his view was also shaped by his father, who regularly played De Coque’s records while he was growing up.

“I don’t know, to be honest. There are legends like Oliver De Coque that made pure highlife music, and highlife is also Afrobeat,” Tekno said.

He also acknowledged Fela’s influence, saying his own song, “Rara”, was heavily inspired by the late musician.

“So I would say for the people in Lagos and Yorubas, a record of mine that is ‘Rara’ is heavily inspired by Fela because I heard his tune and he is a legend. He stamped the Afrobeat thing on the world map,” he said.

Tekno, however, said Fela’s international reach helped him receive more recognition than some of the other musicians of his time.

“I would say I was more inspired by Oliver De Coque because my dad used to play his records. There were so many artists that nobody knows about, and Fela gets the credit because he kind of travelled and had the band that went around the world,” he said.

He further explained that while Fela is regarded by many as the originator of the genre, he believes the history goes beyond one musician.

“To some people, he’s the originator of Afrobeats, but to me, there are a lot of them,” Tekno said.

He added, “Fela is not the originator of Afrobeats. Lagos people and the Yorubas might say he’s the one, but I am from the East, and we had legends like Oliver.”