- Ice Prince narrated how his team decided to add an ‘S’ to the main afrobeat, coined by Fela Kuti
- He stated that his team did that to give identity to their new song ‘Oleku’, when sending it to international radio stations
Nigerian hip hop artist Ice Prince has recently claimed that he was the one who coined the term “Afrobeats,” which is now widely used to describe the popular African music genre that blends traditional rhythms with contemporary elements.
Ice Prince, whose real name is Panshak Zamani, made the bold assertion during a recent interview, stating that he introduced the term back in 2011 with the release of his hit single “Oleku.”
He claimed that when he and his group were sending “Oleku” to foreign radio stations, they made the decision to add an “s” to the word “afrobeat,” which was coined by Fela Kuti, in order 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.
Speaking with Echoo Room, Ice Prince said:
“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!”
See video:
“Oleku is actually the first Afrobeatsssss”
– IcePrince Zamani
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— ???? @???????????????????????????????????????????????????? (@OneJoblessBoy) December 28, 2023
