Afrobeat star Fela Kuti loses to Tina Turner, others on Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee list

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[Getty Images/Ringer Illustration]

Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti was found missing on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame list on Wednesday as The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2021 Inductees.

The 2021 inductees are Tina Turner, Carole King, The Go-Go’s, JAY-Z, Foo Fighters and Todd Rundgren.

The news came as a surprise for Fela’s fans because he placed second in the fan vote category on the last day of voting.

When Nigeria Twitter sphere challenged the outcome of the voting process, the organisers tweeted, ‘‘The top five public-selected artists comprise a “fans’ ballot” that is tallied along with the ballots from more than 1,200 artists including Inductees, historians and members of the music industry. FWIW, in 2021, three of the top five Fan Vote winners will be Inducted’’.

The late singer topped the voting chart of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominee list for weeks as Nigerians voted en masse.

Several Nigerian celebrities including Burna Boy, Mr Macaroni, and Don Jazzy took to Twitter to call on their fans to vote for the Afrobeat pioneer.

The momentum died down after a while and this led to Tina Turner topping the chat while Fela followed closely in the second position.

Artistes become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. In order to be inducted, an artiste must be nominated by a committee that selects a number of candidates, the highest being 16 for the 2020 class.

Fela is appearing on the list for the first time.

Explaining the rationale behind the choice of inductees on their website, the organisers said ballots were sent to an international voting body of more than 1,200 artists, including current living Inductees, historians, and members of the music industry.

‘‘Factors such as an artiste’s musical influence on other artists, length and depth of career and the body of work, innovation, and superiority in style and technique are taken into consideration,’’ they noted.

[PREMIUMTIMES]