Artist

Tony Allen

1958-2020·Lagos

Tony Allen was born Tony Oladipo Allen in Lagos in 1940, the son of a Nigerian father and a Ghanaian mother, and picked up drumsticks at 18 while working as an apprentice technician at a Nigerian radio station. He taught himself by ear, wearing out records by Art Blakey and Max Roach until he could hear, as he later put it, not one drummer but several at once—"I had to ask myself: how many drummers are playing on this?

The full story is in Afrobeat.

At a glance

Active
1958–2020
From
Lagos, Nigeria
Records in the issues
1 (2006)
Original label
Honest Jon’s Records
Listening guide track
“The Hardest Thing (feat. Tony Allen)”

Listen

In the Afrobeat listening guide: “The Hardest Thing (feat. Tony Allen)”

Spotify

In the issues

  • Afrobeat
    Principal · 1968-1997 · Members

    Afrobeat is a genre from Lagos, Nigeria, 1968–1997. Its principal artists include Fela Kuti, Tony Allen and Sandra Izsadore. This issue covers 9 essential albums and 14 dated events.

Records

Terms

Highlife
A West African popular music genre, originating in Ghana and spreading through Nigeria, that blends indigenous rhythms and melodies with Western instruments such as guitar and horns.