An old interview with late legendary musician, Orlando Julius, has resurfaced amid controversy involving award-winning singer Wizkid and Seun Kuti, the son of late legendary musician Fela Kuti.

In the interview with Agbaletu TV, Orlando Julius stated that he started the genre called Afrobeat, which many may say metamorphosed into today’s global genre, Afrobeats. This is despite a belief that Fela Kuti founded the genre.

“I started Afrobeat in Nigeria in 1960”, Orlando Julius said, adding that there was never anyone making music in any form close to Afrobeat at the time.

On what inspired Afrobeat, he said, “I was born in Ikole Ekiti. My dad was Osomalo. That was where I was schooled, and I was one of the band boys of St. Peter’s Anglican School, Ikole Ekiti. Music had been in my blood since then, and my mother played a role in my fondness for music because when we finished eating after getting home from school, I used to sing at night for my mother, who was an Aso Ofi fabric maker.

Obafemi Awolowo’s role in Orlando Julius musical journey

Orlando Julius expressed gratitude to the late Premier of the defunct Western Nigeria, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, whose vision helped shape his journey in life.

He said, “When my dad died, I dropped out of high school and left Ekiti for Ibadan when Obafemi Awolowo was the Premier of Western Nigeria. around 1956. I devoted my full interest in music in 1957 because Obafemi Awolowo was a music lover who also loved his hometown. Despite establishing free education, he didn’t have the chance to ensure music was taught in school, unlike his friend in Ghana, Nkrumah, who ensured it was taught from primary school onwards, and if you didn’t take music, you would fail.

“At the time, Awolowo thought of what to do. So, he called the Action Group and suggested they buy a lot of musical instruments that could be enough for about 30 bands. He said, regardless of your extraction, you were free to come here to learn. That was where I learnt music and where I learnt my first instrument. Though I was already playing some drums while in school, I learnt music instruments professionally at the place where Awolowo placed those instruments for public consumption. It was at the place I learnt how to play alto sax, saxophone, and drumset. I play drums very well and also guitar. I’m glad that man (Awolowo) established that platform. Many of us who learnt music at the place at the time, if you check all the bands that became popular today, most of their members studied at the establishment.

“I played with Eddy Okonta for just a year in 1958, after which I established my own band. That was how Afrobeat started. The Ekiti and Ijesha music I used to sing while in high school, they fell on minor notes. So, I arranged those songs and rehearsed with my band. Before I recorded, I called some boys who were my friends. My brother, I.K Dairo, said I should come to Ilesha, that he had band instruments. That was close to the end of 1960. So, in early 61, I started rehearsing.

Why I called my genre Afrobeat

He said at the time, I.K. Dairo had so many shows he was booked for and had to allow him and his new band to play at some of them. He said his band was named I.K Dairo Globetrotters.

“When we started playing in Ibadan, the crowd that attended our shows, including white people, always marvelled at our brand of music. Our high-life music was different. Whenever people asked what kind of music we were playing, I always told them it was Afrobeat. The reason I called it Afrobeat was that, by then, apart from the minor notes I use in my music, I listened to Cuban music, Caribbean music, Kenyan music, South African music, and others. So, I put them all together. That is where Afro comes from. Afro is African, and those people are descendants. That’s how Afrobeat started,” he said.

Fela had not started singing when I established my band

When Orlando Julius was asked whether Fela Kuti was already singing music when he founded Afrobeat, he said, “No,” adding that he only started hearing about Fela in 1963.

“He came back from abroad, where he went to study music. He could play the trumpet and read, write, and arrange music. At the time, he was working as a DJ at NBC in Lagos. Then, Ibadan was the Mecca of music because of WNTV and WNBS. Many came from far and wide, and also from Ghana and other countries, to Ibadan because it had the first television in Africa – WNTV. We were in Ibadan at the time, and our music was one of a kind. Fela came back in 1964, and around 65, he started coming to Ibadan. He was running a course at NBC Ibadan, so he had to come to Ibadan every week. My band played at Independence Hotel at Oke Bola every night, except Mondays, which was our day off. We always had guests, and we charged 10 Shillings. A lot of graduates and undergraduates of the University of Ibadan used to come there, and that was how I was able to meet Tunji Oyelana and Wole Soyinka, who was a lecturer at the University of Ibadan. Tunji was a student and was in the drama department, and Wole Soyinka was their teacher.

“Every time Fela came, he always played trumpet on our stage. I always brought him to my stage to play the trumpet as a guest artist, and people loved it. He liked my band, which was his favourite at the time. When it was time for him to start his own band called Koola Lobitos, I released three members of my band to follow him to Lagos. One played konga; his name is Isiaka Adio. One played trumpet – Eddy Fayehun, who is now a chief in Akure; and one was a bassist – Ojo Ikeji. They started the band in Lagos with him. I had more musicians who were playing with me.

“If you bought Fela Fanta, he won’t be able to drink half of the bottle. He never used to smoke then. When he started his band, Koola Lobitos, the music they were playing then was not my music brand but jazz high-life. He was playing popular highlife songs by different bands that were making it at the time. What he did was rearrange them and add jazz. So, he did jazz highlife. We were the only ones playing Afrobeat,” he said.

This interview was trending on social media as of the time of filing this report. It resurfaced after Wizkid declared himself to be better than Fela. His words followed a period of ‘social media dragging’ by Seun Kuti, who accused Wizkid’s fans of placing him above his father, Fela.

While many slammed Wizkid for his words concerning Fela, despite benefiting from a genre the legend created, music producer Samklef shared the Orlando Julius interview to prove Fela didn’t create Afrobeat. He also said on X, “Fela stole Orlando Julius Ekemode’s style, the original Afrobeat founder. He also taught Fela how to play the sax.” (The Guardian)