Every country has a musical genre that distinguishes each from the other. These genres are mostly developed to tell a cultural story, promote language and a way of life of people in a given country.
Ghana is no exception, it is widely believed that Highlife is a music genre that started in British West Africa, along the coastal cities of present-day Ghana in the 19th century.
However, an historian, Yaw Frimpong Anokye explained that Ghana had their form of music even before the arrival of the British. He said the music which they were singing in that era was called “Adadamu” which literally means “Old-time music.”
This “Adadamu” was mostly sung when the people gathered to have fun while drinking. The British then changed the name to Palmwine Music. The name Palmwine is believed to have come about due to the production of Palmwine in the country.
With time, the Palmwine Music evolved when singers in the Urban Sectors started to use Western instruments to sing Palmwine music. The music then attracted the elites, wealthy and businessmen to engage those who were using these western instruments to make their music.
It got to a point in time that if one is not rich and not an elite living in the urban sector, accessing these singers becomes very difficult. This made those in Gold Coast rename the City music as Highlife. The reason was that if one has not reached a high level in life, one cannot patronize or access such music.
Palmwine Music was then elevated to Highlife Music. Highlife Music then describes multiple local fusions of African music and western jazz melodies. It uses the melodic and main rhythmic structures of traditional African music, but is typically played with Western instruments.
The Gold Coast musicians used Highlife music to talk about their culture, to educate, to tell refined stories of traditions and beliefs, as well as the life of people from all the tribes to bring them together. This Music was later promoted by E.T Mensah who was known as the King of Highlife.
Through the intervention of Kwame Nkrumah, E.T Mensah had the privilege to feature Louis Armstrong, a renowned Jazz player. All perfected this sound by infusing traditional Africa drums and western “Native Blues.” Highlife is then characterized by jazzy horns and multiple guitars.
Source: Ghana/MaxTV/MaxFM/max.com.gh/Joyceline Natally Cudjoe
