“I Founded Afrobeat in 1960 and Gave Fela Kuti His First Platform” — Orlando Julius Claims

An old interview with late legendary Nigerian musician Orlando Julius has resurfaced on social media, reigniting debates about the origins of Afrobeat amid the ongoing controversy involving award-winning singer Wizkid and Seun Kuti, the son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

In the archival interview with Agbaletu TV, Orlando Julius boldly claimed that he pioneered Afrobeat long before Fela Kuti popularised the genre, stating that he began the sound in 1960.
“I started Afrobeat in Nigeria in 1960,” Julius said, adding that “there was never anyone making music in any form close to Afrobeat at the time.”

He traced his musical roots to his childhood in Ikole Ekiti, where he developed an early passion for music through his family and school environment. “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,” he recounted.

Julius also expressed gratitude to the late Premier of Western Nigeria, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, for his role in shaping his musical journey. He recalled how Awolowo’s initiative to provide musical instruments helped many young Nigerians learn music professionally.

“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,” he said.

He added, “He called the Action Group and suggested they buy a lot of musical instruments that could be enough for about 30 bands… That was where I learnt music and where I learnt my first instrument… It was at the place I learnt how to play alto sax, saxophone, and drumset. I play drums very well and also guitar.”
On how he coined the term Afrobeat, Julius explained that the name emerged organically from audiences who were curious about his sound.

“When we started playing in Ibadan… 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… 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.

He also insisted that Fela Kuti was not active in music when he founded his band. “No,” he said when asked if Fela was already singing, adding that he only started hearing about him in 1963. Julius recalled how Fela later joined his band on stage as a guest trumpeter and even recruited some of his musicians when he formed Koola Lobitos in Lagos.

“Every time Fela came, he always played trumpet on our stage… 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,” he revealed.

The interview has gone viral again following Wizkid’s controversial remarks about Fela and the ensuing social media feud with Seun Kuti, which reopened conversations about legacy, influence, and the true origins of Afrobeat.

While Fela Kuti remains globally celebrated as the genre’s architect, Orlando Julius’ claims highlight the layered and contested history behind one of Africa’s most influential musical movements.

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