Veteran singer and songwriter, Alexander Abolore Adegbola Akande, popularly known as 9ice, has expressed his gratitude to late Afrobeat icon Fela Anikulapo Kuti for providing a platform that allowed Nigerian musicians to rise to prominence.
In a recent interview with ‘Sis Project Studios,’ the 43-year-old artist acknowledged Fela as the pioneer of Afrobeat, a genre that made it easier for many artists to gain recognition.
9ice highlighted the efforts of various artists in the past who experimented with different genres while striving to showcase their talents. Meanwhile, Fela maintained his path in the Afrobeat genre, which eventually gained global recognition.
He remarked, “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 had something that the world recognized.”
9ice emphasized the value of Afrobeat and how it influenced his own musical journey. He regarded legendary figures like King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey, and Fela Anikulapo Kuti as pioneers who laid the foundation for contemporary artists like himself to build upon.
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