Maverick singer Seun Kuti has ignited controversy by claiming that his late father, Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, pioneered rap music long before it became globally recognised.
Speaking on a recent episode of the Hits Don’t Lie podcast, Kuti argued that Fela was effectively rapping on his album Authority Stealing, even though the genre had not yet been named.
According to him, Fela unknowingly laid the groundwork for rap through spoken-word delivery layered over rhythm-driven music.
“Fela was the first person to rap. 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’,” he said.
However, music historians point out that DJ Kool Herc pioneered the breakbeat style in 1973, widely regarded as the birth of hip-hop culture, while Authority Stealing was released in 1980.
While Fela remains universally celebrated as the creator of Afrobeat and a fearless political activist, rap music is traditionally credited to pioneers such as DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash.
