Photo: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti performing (file photo) — The Sun Nigeria
Nigerian music legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tonight, receiving the Early Influence Award at the 2026 ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles — Saturday night in America, in the early hours of Sunday in Nigeria.
The posthumous honour makes Fela the first Nigerian artist and the first African solo artist to enter the Hall, almost three decades after his death in 1997.
- Fela receives the Early Influence Award alongside Queen Latifah, Celia Cruz, MC Lyte and Gram Parsons
- Nigerian-born Sade Adu is also honoured tonight, in the Performer category
- The honour follows Fela's Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in January, another first for an African artist
A first for Nigeria and for Africa
The 2026 class was announced in April during a live broadcast of American Idol in the United States, after voting by more than 1,200 artists, historians and music industry professionals.
Performer inductees are Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Oasis, Sade, Luther Vandross and Wu-Tang Clan. Reports citing the Associated Press say Sade's representative has confirmed she will not attend tonight's ceremony.
For Nigeria, the night carries a double honour: Fela in the Early Influence category and Nigerian-born Sade Adu among the performers.
Why Fela's influence still runs through global music
Fela created Afrobeat in Lagos, fusing Yoruba rhythms with jazz, funk and highlife into long, horn-driven songs that took on military rule, corruption and injustice by name.
With his Africa 70 and Egypt 80 bands and the Afrika Shrine as his stage, his sound travelled the world and still runs through today's Afrobeats, hip-hop and jazz — the foundation the Hall's Early Influence Award exists to recognise.
What happens tonight in Los Angeles
The ceremony holds tonight at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and will be broadcast on ABC and Disney+ in December.
It completes a landmark year for Fela's legacy: in January he became the first African artist to receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, nearly 30 years after his death.
Sources: Punch; The Sun Nigeria; NME; Parade; Associated Press reporting via Newsday. Follow @newstweetnaija for more.
