I pioneered Afrobeats- Iceprince

December 31, 2023 Joshua Samuel

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According to Nigerian musician Panshak Henry Zamani, better known by his stage name Ice Prince, his 2011 single “Oleku,” which features Brymo, is the first to be labeled as “Afrobeats.”

He claimed that while he and his group were sending “Oleku” to foreign radio stations, they decided to append a “s” to the word “afrobeat,” which was coined by Fela Kuti, to give their new sound a distinct identity.

The rapper clarified that DJ Abrante, a Ghanaian-British disc jockey, is commonly credited with creating the genre because he was the one who playlisted “Oleku,” emphasizing that the DJ used the term “Afrobeats” at his and his team’s request.

Ice Prince recently stated in an interview with Echoo Room that “Oleku” was among the first songs to be played on BBC Radio. Among the earliest Afrobeats songs to be included in playlists. Furthermore, our music was not recognized at the time by foreign DJs, who were unable to categorize it as Afrobeat. To create Afrobeats, my colleagues and I instructed them to add a “s.”

“Review the history; the first Afrobeats record was ‘Oleku.'” We added the “s” since they had to name it for a radio station. If not, could you please inform me who thought of the final “s”? Many claimed that DJ Abrante was the author, but guess what? The song “Oleku” was playlisted by Abrante. That is my own claim, o!

“Oleku is actually the first Afrobeatsssss”

– IcePrince Zamani

📹 The LinkUp pic.twitter.com/4z9ULmbE0f

— 🐬 @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) December 28, 2023

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Joshua Samuel

A conscientious writer with a knack and passion for story telling which spans across different sectors and segments. I love telling stories in writing and bringing quality, authentic and timely information to everyone everywhere.

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