Tony Allen
AfrobeatActive
Biography
Tony Allen (born Tony Oladipo Allen in Lagos, Nigeria on 12 August 1940; died 30 April 2020 in Paris) was a Nigerian drummer, composer, and songwriter who lived and worked in Paris, France. Allen was the drummer and musical director of Fela Kuti's band Fela Anikulapo Kuti & Africa 70 from 1968 to 1979, and was one of the primary co-founders of the genre of Afrobeat music. Of mixed Nigerian and Ghanaian parentage, Allen taught himself to play drums by listening to records made by the American jazz drummers Art Blakey and Max Roach.
