Tony Allen, a pioneer of Afrobeat music and drummer of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, has died aged 79.
He died on Thursday in Paris, France, where he lived for many years, his manager, Eric Trosset, announced.
“We don’t know the exact cause of death.
“He was in great shape, it was quite sudden. I spoke to him at 1 pm then two hours later he was sick and taken to Pompidou hospital, where he died,” AFP quoted Trosset as saying.
However, he maintained that it had nothing to do with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Allen is credited with creating the now-popular Afrobeat genre with his friend and business partner, Fela, whom he first met in 1964.
He was the musical director of Fela’s Africa ’70 band in the 1960-70s.
The pair recorded 40 albums together before parting ways after 26 years of collaboration.
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Born in Lagos in 1940, Tony Allen thought himself to play drums at the age of 18, learning his technique by mimicking American jazz drummer Max Roach.
Allen’s career and life story were documented in his 2013 autobiography Tony Allen: Master Drummer of Afrobeat.
British musician Brian Eno described him as “perhaps the greatest drummer who ever lived”.