Seun Kuti recently stirred conversation by claiming that his late father, Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, was the true pioneer of rap music. During an appearance on the Hits Don’t Lie podcast, the 43-year-old musician pointed to Fela’s 1980 album Authority Stealing, saying the project featured early rapping before the style was formally recognized.
“Fela was the first person to rap,” Seun said. “He did a bit of rapping on the album Authority Stealing. When he did it, we didn’t know it was going to be called ‘rap.’”
However, Seun’s claim clashes with widely documented accounts of rap’s origins. Most historians trace rap also known as hip-hop to early 1970s block parties in New York City, where DJs began isolating and extending percussion breaks from funk, soul, and disco tracks.
What did you invented??.. Boy
Bro just the live on his dead papa glory, he be musician and doesn’t talk his career
I love Fela’s music and wordings when I used to listen then but this claim is not true. Rap and something similar is not new around the world as this is cultural music to American and even the accident Arabs had music close to rap music.
I would advise the Big Bird to always do his research before coming to the public spaces with his claims. This would be wise for him.
Fela music reign forever!
Mmmmmm calm down abeg
Yea just like Gil Scott Heron’s style of music which is Spoken Word Poetry, Mohammed Ali’s speeches and of course, Fela’s style of singing in the song Seun mentioned predated rap before DJ Kool Herc invented HipHop. Elements of other existing generes were infused to create HipHop. Most of you know nothing about music yet you want to argue with someone like Seun that actually studied it and practicing professionally.
We gree Fela na everything but brother abeg let that man rest in peace for God sake.
I love how seun is trying to keep his father’s legacy…
Is it only him his father gave birth to?
I remember when bullion Vans were hired to convey Igbo to shrine for Fela.
Na your papa created the first man too.. Na soo this guy want to people to disrespect his papa oh.