Nigerian afrobeat musician, Seun Kuti, has claimed that his late father, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, pioneered elements of rap music long before the genre became globally recognised.
Seun made this assertion during an appearance on the Hits Don’t Lie podcast, where he argued that Fela’s style of delivering lyrics placed him ahead of his time.
According to him, the Afrobeat legend used rhythmic, spoken-word expressions that closely resemble what is now known as rap.
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He cited Fela’s song Authority Stealing as a clear example, noting that the track features politically charged, rhythm-driven vocal delivery that mirrors rap techniques.
Seun explained that when the song was recorded in the mid-1970s, neither Fela nor his audience understood that the style would later evolve into an entirely new genre.
“Fela was already doing what we now call rap,” Seun said, adding that the term did not exist at the time his father employed that form of expression.
The claim has since sparked discussions among music fans and historians, with many revisiting Fela’s extensive catalogue to examine his influence on modern music styles beyond Afrobeat.
