The late Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti, better known by his stage name 9ice, declared that he created a ladder for Nigerian musicians to climb in order to achieve success.
In a recent interview with “Sis Project Studios,” the 43-year-old singer said that Fela, the father of Afrobeat, offered a genre that made things simpler for many artists.
He noted that back in the days, other artistes were trying different genres and looking for ways to showcase their talents to the world. While Fela maintained a path in the Afrobeat genre which gained recognition worldwide.
“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