Dada Hafco, the ‘Yebewu Nti’ hitmaker, has said that the biggest songs in Ghana over the past decade, have been either highlife songs or at least highlife infused.
In an interview on an Accra-based TV station, Dada Hafco made this assertion when he was asked what he makes of the state of highlife music now as it seems that a lot of people are taking up genres like hiplife, afrobeat, and the likes. He noted that it is only a myth that highlife music is dead.
“One of the things that people fail to realize or to recognize is that over the past decade, the biggest songs that have been in the Ghanaian scene have been either highlife or highlife infused. What I’m saying is that most of the people who may churn out those songs may not be highlife artistes but they are doing it.
“From 2010, if you look at the song ‘Odo’ from R2Bees to ‘Walaahi’ to Bisa Kdei’s ‘Mansa’, Dobble’s ‘Christy’, even Kwesi Arthur’s ‘Woara’, Kuami Eugene’s ‘Angela’, Kidi’s ‘Odo’ and even Sark’s songs like ‘Saara’ are all highlife or highlife infused so if someone says that highlife music is dying, I just laugh,” he explained.
According to Dada Hafco, highlife is in the DNA of all Ghanaians and that is why even the rappers and dancehall artistes are doing highlife, and that is why it is not a shock that Shatta Wale won highlife song of the year.
“Everybody does it because the moment you’re born and bred in this country, you’ll have highlife DNA in you,” he said.
