Tony Allen breaks down the five major drum patterns of Afrobeat in an unreleased clip from the recent documentary short Birth of Afrobeat. Production team Rest In Beats and director Opiyo Okeyo ...

As a lost album by Allen and Masekela is released, African’s finest drummer remembers the late trumpeter’s brilliant funk – and the chaotic militancy of his most famous partner Tony Allen is the most ...

Afrobeat drum loops capture the relentless, syncopated heartbeat at the core of Nigerian funk, blending traditional West‑African rhythms with the swagger of early ’70s soul and jazz fusion. These ...

It is getting near midnight on a Friday evening in the Nigerian capital in the late 1970s. Young Lagosians are trekking from Oju Elegba, at the heart of the city’s night club scene, towards the old ...

With the Nigerian bandleader Fela and later on his own, he merged West African styles with American jazz and funk, reaching listeners worldwide. By Jon Pareles Tony Allen, the drummer who created the ...

In the spectrum of global music and culture, a powerful force is rising—not quietly, but with the thunderous beat of talking drums, hypnotic basslines, and unapologetic energy. Afrobeat, more than ...