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Legendary Nigerian drummer Tony Allen dies in Paris

Motolani Alake

May 1, 2020 12:42 AM

The cause of legend's death has not been confirmed.

Tony Allen died in his now home city, Paris (Ennio Leanza/EPA/Shutterstock)

On April 30, 2020, legendary Nigerian drummer, Tony Oladipo Allen died at the age of 80 in Paris, France.

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At this time, the cause of death is still unknown, but it has been confirmed that the legend has passed away.

Allen is known as one of the founders of Afrobeat with the legendary Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. In his heyday, many revered him as one of the greatest drummers to have ever lived.

Fela once famously said, “Without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat."

Tony Allen is known as one of the pioneers of Afrobeat ece-auto-gen

Allen was a core member of Fela’s Africa 70 band and made the following albums with Fela, Gentleman (1973), Expensive Shit (1975) and Zombie (1976).

Famously, he worked with Max Roach, Frank Butler, Damon Albarn, King Sunny Ade, the late Manu Dibango and many more.

Motolani Alake Motolani is the Managing Editor of Pulse. A trained Lawyer, who has worked in Law practice, humanitarian aid and corporate finance, he is a voice in - African - pop culture, entertainment, entertainment tech and sports. He is also a Liverpool fan.

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