On Thursday (April 30), Flea wrote a touching tribute to Tony Allen — the Fela Kuti drummer who helped pioneer the Afrobeat genre — after the percussionist died of abdominal aortic aneurysm at the age of 79.
"The epic Tony Allen, one of the greatest drummers to ever walk this earth has left us," the Red Hot Chili Pepper bassist wrote on Instagram alongside a gallery of photos. "What a wildman, with a massive, kind and free heart and the deepest one-of-a-kind groove. Fela Kuti did not invent afrobeat, Fela and Tony birthed it together. Without Tony Allen there is NO afrobeat."
He then went on to reminisce about their time recording their 2012 self-titled album for a project called Rocket Juice & the Moon, which also included Blur's Damon Albarn. "I was lucky enough to spend many an hour with him, holed up in a London studio, jamming the days away. It was f**king heavenly," Flea gushed. "He was and still is, my hero. I wanted to honor his greatness so much when we played together, and I was nervous when we started, but he made me laugh like a two year old, and we fell right into pocket. I lit up like a Christmas tree every time I knew we were about to lay down some rhythm. With Tony’s longtime musical collaborator, friend and champion, Damon Albarn, we jammed til the cows came home. We partied in Nigeria, we partied around Europe, and it was always about the music. Just grooving high, grooving deep."
"Tony Allen I love you, I’m so grateful to have had the chance to rock with you," he concluded his emotional tribute. "God bless your beautiful soul."
See Flea's homage to Allen below.
Photo: Getty Images