Veteran artist 9ice claimed that the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, a pioneer of Afrobeat, provided a ladder for Nigerian musicians to ascend.
In an interview with “Sis Project Studios,” 9ice said that Fela, the father of Afrobeat, introduced what has given many musicians a platform to build from.
He noted that other artists at the time were experimenting with other genres and looking for chances to showcase their abilities in front of the general public. While Fela remained on a path in the internationally renowned Afrobeat genre.
In his words:
“Fela Anikulapo-Kuti gave us the platform which is Afrobeat for us to climb on top. We were trying to do Afropop. We were trying to do afrobeats. We were trying to do different names. But Baba [Fela] already has something that the world recognized.
“Afrobeat taught me a lot. King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey, and Fela Anikulapo-Kuti are our grandfathers. And I’m glad to be in existence to emulate or to follow what they’ve done,” He said.
Watch The Video Below:
“Fela Anikulapo-Kuti gave us the platform which is Afrobeat”
– 9ice
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📹 Sis Project Studios pic.twitter.com/FLgaAfXlZv
— 🐬 @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) August 30, 2023