Veteran highlife musician Naa Agyeman has expressed concern about how authentic highlife music has lost its true sound and soul in the country.
According to him, the songs labelled and classified as highlife bears little resemblance to the traditional sound instead termed it as hybrid and afrobeat.
Speaking in a recent media interview, the “Alomo ketsewa” hitmaker stated that the authentic highlife is defined by its distinctive instrumentation—particularly the use of lead and rhythm guitars, horn sections, and traditional drum patterns.
“True highlife music relies on the interplay of guitars and specific percussion rhythms,” he said.
Naa Agyeman indicated that changing the sound of highlife songs also changes its authentic genre.
“When you strip away those guitars and those drums and you start layering in R&B synths or afrobeats-style beats, you lose the very soul of highlife.”
“Many people compose songs and label them as highlife and say music is dynamic. But if you compose a song and remove key instruments like the guitar and the drums and add R&B or afrobeats, then that is not highlife. It is afrobeats,” he stated.
Naa Agyeman emphasized the need for artists to make a clear choice between genres.
“If it were the highlife you were doing, you wouldn’t have brought afrobeats into it,” You can’t say it is afrobeats mixed with highlife. You have to choose,” he added.
