Maverick singer Seun Kuti has warned Afrobeats artists to desist from comparing themselves to his father, the late Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
He frowned against the actions of some Afrobeats artist who address themselves as the modern day equivalent of Fela just because they sample his songs or draw inspiration from his style of music.
The Grammy-nominated singer explained that he is not against sampling Fela’s works, but against the comparisons between the late music legend and some Afrobeats artists.
He emphasised that sampling Fela’s music isn’t tantamount to equal status with him.
Speaking in a recent episode of the Hits Don’t Lie podcast, Kuti said, “A few people have done good samples of Fela’s music. But the only critique that I have is that sampling Fela doesn’t make you Fela.
“So, people should stop saying that they are my dad. That is crazy. It crazy when people say that they are the ‘New Fela.’ Where is the ‘Bob Marley’? It is only in Nigeria you hear such. We so wild stuff here. People are wild.”
Several Afrobeats artists including Wizkid and Burna Boy have drawn comparisons with Fela after sampling him on multiple occasions.
Street-hop artists such as Bella Shmurda and Portable have publicly referred to themselves as “New Fela”.
Rapper Olamide sparked controversy late last year after declaring Wizkid “the greatest Afrobeats artist after Fela”.