Tekno Says Fela Cannot Be His King, And Names Oliver De Coque
Lagos · Saturday 26 September 2026
Tekno has clarified his comment that Fela Kuti "can't be my king", which set off an argument online about the origins of Afrobeats. The singer said Fela does not inspire his music, and pointed instead to highlife and the Igbo guitar tradition of Oliver De Coque.
Two words that sound the same
Fela created Afrobeat, singular: long horn-driven songs, political lyrics, a specific band sound. Afrobeats, plural, is the broader modern pop genre Tekno works in, and it draws on highlife, juju, dancehall, hip-hop and much else. The two are related and they are not the same thing, and the naming confusion is behind half of this argument.
| Afrobeat | Afrobeats | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1970s onward | 2000s onward |
| Founder | Fela Kuti | No single one |
| Sound | Horns, long jams, protest | Pop songs, drums, melody |
Tekno's argument is essentially that he belongs to the second column.
Every artist gets to choose their ancestors. Nobody gets to pretend Fela did not change what the world thinks Nigerian music sounds like.
Why the reaction was so fierce
Fela is not just a musician in Nigeria. He is a political figure and a symbol, and dismissing him reads to many people as dismissing what he stood for. Tekno's clarification is a fair musical argument delivered in the least diplomatic way possible, which is how most good music arguments start.
Reporting: TheCable Lifestyle and Nigerian Bulletin.
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