Nigerian rapper, Ice Prince, has claimed that his 2011 hit song ‘Oleku’ featuring Brymo is the first “Afrobeats” song recorded in Nigeria.
According to him, it was he and his team that added the “s” to Afrobeat, which was initially established by Fela Kuti as a means of identity to a new sound, ‘Oleku’.
Ice Prince said this in a recent interview with the Echoo Room.
“Oleku’ was one of the first songs to be playlisted on BBC Radio. One of the first Afrobeats songs to be playlisted. And at that time, they [foreign DJs] didn’t know what to call our music and they couldn’t call it Afrobeat. So, we [I and my team] told them to put an ‘s’ it to make it Afrobeats.
“Check the history, ‘Oleku’ was the first Afrobeats record. Because they have to label it on a radio station, that was why we put the ‘s.’ If not tell me who came up with the ‘s’ at the end? A lot of people said it is credited to DJ Abrante, but guess what? Abrante was the one that playlisted the song ‘Oleku.’ That’s my own claim o!” He said.
9news Entertainment.