Tony Allen (musician)

Tony Allen (musician)

Tony Oladipo Allen (born August 12, 1940 in Lagos, Nigeria) is a Nigerian drummer, composer, and songwriter who currently lives and works in Paris. He is currently writing his autobiography "Tony Allen: Master Drummer of Afrobeat" with author/musician Michael E. Veal, who has previously written a comprehensive biography of Fela Kuti.

As drummer and musical director of Fela Anikulapo Kuti's band Africa 70 from 1968 to 1979, Tony 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."

Read more about Tony Allen (musician):  Early Career, Fela and Africa '70, Afrobeat To Afrofunk, Current Work, Discography

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