Tony Allen (1940–2020) is one of the most influential drummers of all time. The original master of Afrobeat, his polyrhythmic style has not only coined a whole genre, but inspired generations of musicians to come.Tony Allen
A premier session musician in his native Nigeria, Tony Allen was the rhythmic backbone of Fela Kuti’s band Africa ’70. As the band’s musical director, Allen created a sound that was infectious, complex, and unapologetically African. Besides his achievements in jazz, afrobeat, and afrofunk, Tony Allen’s grooves lead him to collaborate with artists from all kinds of genres, whether it was hip-hop groups, Blur’s Damon Albarn, or techno pioneer Jeff Mills.
