One of the founders of Afrobeat music and late Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s drummer, Tony Allen is dead.

Tony Oladipo Allen, born 1940 in Lagos, Nigeria, was a Nigerian drummer, composer and songwriter. He died on April 30, 2020 in Paris, France where he lived.

His career and life story had been documented in his 2013 autobiography Tony Allen: Master Drummer of Afrobeat, co-written with author/musician Michael E. Veal, who previously wrote a comprehensive biography of Fela Kuti.

As drummer and musical director of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s band Africa ’70 from 1968 to 1979, Allen was one of the primary co-founders of the genre of Afrobeat music.

Fela once stated that, “without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat.” He has also been described by Brian Eno as “perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived”