- Seun Kuti, warns Afrobeats artists against comparing themselves to his father, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
- He disapproves of musicians labeling themselves as modern-day versions of Fela based on sampling his music or drawing inspiration from his style.
- Kuti emphasizes the importance of recognizing Fela’s unique legacy rather than attempting to replicate it.
Singer and activist Seun Kuti has cautioned Afrobeats artistes against comparing themselves to his late father, legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
He expressed displeasure over the trend of some Afrobeats musicians referring to themselves as the modern-day version of Fela simply because they sample his songs or take inspiration from his sound.
The Grammy-nominated musician made it clear that while he has no issue with artistes sampling Fela’s music, he strongly opposes the comparisons being drawn between the Afrobeat icon and contemporary Afrobeats stars.
According to him, sampling Fela’s work does not automatically place any artiste on the same level as the late legend.
Speaking on a recent episode of the Hits Don’t Lie podcast, Seun Kuti said, “A few people have done good samples of Fela’s music. But the only critique that I have is that sampling Fela doesn’t make you Fela.
“So, people should stop saying that they are my dad. That is crazy. It crazy when people say that they are the ‘New Fela.’ Where is the ‘Bob Marley’? It is only in Nigeria you hear such. We so wild stuff here. People are wild.”
Over the years, several Afrobeats stars, including Wizkid and Burna Boy, have been compared to Fela following their repeated use of samples from his music.
Street-hop artistes such as Bella Shmurda and Portable have also openly described themselves as the “New Fela.”
Meanwhile, rapper Olamide sparked controversy late last year after declaring Wizkid as “the greatest Afrobeats artist after Fela.”
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