The highlife jazz period was interesting for many reasons. Firstly, it positioned Fela as a serious musician who was interested in exploring musical concepts and genres. He included melodies and motifs from Afro-cuban, Jazz standards as well as covering popular highlife songs.

Secondly, between 1964-65, some key musicians joined the band raising the bar beyond the sum of the parts. Henry Koffi, Tony Allen, Lekan Animashaun, Don Kemonah, Ezekiel Hart, and  Isaac Olashugba. These guys stretched his ideas, with their arrangements and solos that gave him more confidence in his music and the following started to grow.

Fela, By Tola Odukoya, (1966, Medium Format).

This period was the most democratic of all his formations. Isaac Olushugba J.O. Araba penned songs that were recorded and performed by the band. It did not last, when they left. The band only performed Fela Kuti’s arrangements.

The first release were on RK, a family run label. Then the band started spending more time in Ghana where they were enjoying some traction. Afrobeat as a genre was more established there. Bands like the Psychedelic Aliens, 3rd Battalion Band, Ebo Taylor, The Uppers International were all playing their own variations of afrobeat. As a collector, I have been fortunate to find interesting afrobeat records from different collections around Ghana.

There were a few singles by the Don Isaac Ezekiel Combination (ex-members of Koola Lobitos), DIE, that are highly sought after as top-shelf afrobeat music of the highest order. Ire / God We Will Serve, The Preacher Man / The Lord's Prayer, Amalinja / Fall On Your Knees And Pray

So who invented afrobeat? This is not a hard question.

The name Afrobeat to denote a certain funky, afrocentric musical genre was probably not invented by Fela Kuti.

The genre’s greatest exponent is Fela Anikulapo-Kuti

This single came out in 1966, it is not clear if Fela had started labeling his music as afrobeat, then. I doubt it. I believe from 1968 he grabbed it and made it his in a way nobody else could. And hence became the king of afrobeat. The name king of afrobeat suggests there were other exponents of the genre, but he, Fela was king. In other words, he did not need to have invented it, he owned it.