Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen dies at 79

Allen’s manager, Eric Trosset, told Rolling Stone that the legend had died on 30 April of an abdominal aortic aneurysm at Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris, France. 

“He was in great shape, it was quite sudden. I spoke to him at 1pm then two hours later he was sick and taken to Pompidou Hospital, where he died," he said. 

Condolences have been pouring in on social media following Allen's death. 

"R.I.P Tony Allen. This man pioneered Afrobeat with Fela Kuti. His drumming was the backbone of the sound. Blessed to have played a show with him in Köln a couple of years ago. A true genius. He will be missed," Ghanaian creative Blitz the Ambassador wrote on Twitter.

Fela Kuti's former manager, Rikki Stein, said: "Our beautiful Tony has left us. Words escape me. The only word that comes to mind is Irreplaceable! Rest in peace sweet soul."

American-Nigerian rapper Jiddena tweeted: "Rest In Power to Tony Allen, The Godfather of Afrobeat Rhythms. Thank you for giving us the sound that would change our lives and our destiny as a people."

Allen is credited as the founder of Afrobeat alongside Fela Kuti, with whom he played with for 15 years. Born Tony Oladipo Allen in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1940, the legendary drummer met Kuti in the early 1960s and began playing music with him in 1964. In 1969, they formed the legendary Africa 70 band and Allen became its musical director. The two musicians recorded more than 30 albums together. Fela once said that "without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat."

Allen fused Ghanaian and Nigerian highlife with American jazz to create the signature patterns that defined Afrobeat. He was an admirer of American jazz greats like Max Roach and Art Blakey, so much so that in 2017 he released the highly praised album A Tribute to Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers.

In 1979, Allen left Fela's band and moved to the UK before settling in Paris in the mid-80s. He had an extensive solo career and collaborated with a number of artists such as the late Cameroonian Afro-jazz pioneer Manu Dibango, Blur frontman Damon Albarn in the band The Good, the Bad & the Queen, and Nigeria's King Sunny Adé. He also worked with Albarn and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea on the Rocket Juice & the Moon project. 

“I was lucky enough to spend many an hour with him, holed up in a London studio, jamming the days away," Flea told Rolling Stone. "It was fucking heavenly. He was and still is, my hero."

Allen's most recent album was Rejoice, which was released in March. The album is a collaboration with the late South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, who died in 2018. Before his death, Allen was planning a tour to promote the album “along with Hugh’s classics and some of my own stuff,” he told The Guardian in March.