Tony Allen, former drummer, composer and songwriter for Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, is dead.
Allen died at the age of 79 in Paris.
A self-taught musician, Allen began playing drums at the age of 18, while working as an engineer for a Nigerian radio station.
Allen was the drummer and musical director of Fela Kuti’s band Africa ’70 in the 1960s and 70s and late Fela once stated that, “Without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat,” over his thrilling styles on drums.
Allen and Kuti recorded some 40 albums together as Africa ’70 before parting ways after a 26-year collaboration.
Such was the hole that Allen left in his band Kuti needed four drummers to replace him.
Also, he was the drummer in the super group the Good, the Bad & the Queen, also featuring the Blur singer Damon Albarn and the Clash bassist Paul Simonon, which released its second album in 2018.
Artists, including Major Lazer, Gilles Peterson and Flea have paid tributes to Allen on Twitter with the rapper Biz Markie describing him as “an all-time titan spanning continents, eras, and sounds.”