Highlife is a Ghanaian music genre that originated along the coastal cities of present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its history as a colony of the British and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It encompasses multiple local fusions of African metre and western jazz melodies. It uses the melodic and main rhythmic structures of traditional African music, but is typically played with Western instruments. Highlife is characterized by jazzy horns and guitars which lead the band and its use of the two-finger plucking guitar style that is typical of African music. Recently it has acquired an uptempo, synth-driven sound.
There are many styles of traditional and modern music of Ghana, due to Ghana's worldwide geographic position on the African continent.
Dan Amakye Dede is a Ghanaian high-life musician. Widely regarded as one of the greatest high-life musicians of all time, he is popularly referred to as "Iron Boy", "the high-life maestro" and "Abrantie". Amakye Dede was born in Agogo, Asante Akim. He attended Agogo Roman School. He is best known for classic songs such as: "Jealousy go shame", "Dabi Dabi Ebeye Yie", "Akwadaa Wesoa", and "Iron Boy."
The Ga-Dangbe, Ga-Dangme, Ga-Adangme or Ga-Adangbe are an ethnic group in Ghana, Togo and Benin. The Ga or Gan and Dangbe or Dangme people are grouped as part of the Ga–Dangme ethnolinguistic group. The Ga-Dangmes are one ethnic group that lives primarily in the Greater Accra region of Ghana.
Soul to Soul is a 1971 documentary film about the Independence Day concert held in Accra, Ghana, on 6 March 1971. It features an array of mostly American R&B, soul, rock, and jazz musicians.
Emmanuel Tettey Mensah, was a Ghanaian musician who was regarded as the "King of Highlife" music. He led The Tempos, a band that toured widely in West Africa.
Richie Mensah, better known by his stage name Richie, is a Ghanaian singer-songwriter and record producer. After producing records for several artists, Richie set up Lynx Entertainment record label and released his debut album All of Me on the label in 2008. He has since then gone on to win several awards both as a singer and record producer and is fast establishing himself as one of the biggest names in the Ghanaian music industry.
Prampram is a coastal town in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The town is located in the Ningo Prampram District.
Sherifa Gunu is a Ghanaian soul musician. She was born a princess into a royal family of the Kingdom of Dagbon, in the Northern Region of Ghana. Gunu had interest in music and dance during her childhood days.
Kojo Antwi, also known as "Mr. Music Man", is a Ghanaian Afro pop, highlife, reggae musical artist and a former Ghamro chairman. Born Julius Kojo Antwi into a family of 13 siblings, he grew up in Darkuman a suburb of Accra. He has 22 albums to his name, with "Tom & Jerry" became one of his most popular songs in West Africa Ghana.
Nana Kwame Ampadu was a Ghanaian musician and composer credited with numerous popular highlife tracks and he is known to have composed over 800 songs. He was also known as Adwomtofo Nyinaa hempɔn. Ampadu was the lead singer, chief songwriter, and founder of the "African Brothers Band". He is regarded as a pioneer of highlife and afrobeat music and one of the most illustrious Ghanaian musicians of the 20th century.
Maradona Yeboah Adjei, also known by his stage names Guru and Gurunkz, is a Ghanaian rapper and fashion designer. Guru NKZ is a hiplife artist in Ghana. He is known for his contemporary hip-hop rap style that combines English and Ghanaian indigenous languages. Guru's breakthrough was in 2011, when his hit song "Lapaz Toyota" appeared on the Ghanaian music charts. Guru is considered a contemporary hip-hop artist, as his songs use styles not common on the Ghanaian music charts, mixing hip-hop, Afrobeats, highlife, and dancehall sounds.
Paa Kow is a Ghanaian Highlife and Afro-Fusion drummer and composer.
Charles Kofi Amankwaa Mann, known as C. K. Mann, was a Ghanaian highlife musician and producer. His music career spanned over four decades; he won multiple awards for his songs. He was awarded the Grand Medal of Ghana by John Agyekum Kufour in 2006.
Eugene Kwame Marfo, who goes by the stage name Kuami Eugene is a Ghanaian Hghlife, High-life and Afrobeat singer-songwriter. He is signed to Lynx Entertainment and Empire Distribution and is known for several songs, including "Angela", "Wish Me Well", "Ohemaa", "Wa Ye Wie" and many others. He won the Unsung and New Artist awards in 2017 and 2018 from the Ghana Music Awards respectively, and the Ghana Music Awards UK. He also received the Most Promising Artist in Africa award from AFRIMA / LYNXGHANA. In 2019, Kwame Eugene received 7 nominations at the Ghana Music Awards and went on to win the awards for Album of the Year, Producer of the Year, and Highlife Artist of the Year. He was crowned Artist of the Year and High-life Artist of the Year at the 2020 Ghana Music Awards.
John William Hansen popularly known as Jerry Hansen was a Ghanaian highlife musician. He was a singer, a composer, an arranger, a saxophonist and a pioneer of highlife music. He was the bandleader and founder of the Ramblers International Band. He was a founding member and the first president of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA).
Emmanuel Mallet popularly known as Zapp Mallet is a veteran Ghanaian recording engineer and a record producer. He is recognized as one of the pioneers of the hiplife genre that started in the early 1990s in Ghana. He is also recognized as the only recording engineer to have won the Ghana Music Awards on three consecutive occasions; 1999, 2000, 2001.
Kwaku Agyapong Danemah popularly known as Dr. Paa Bobo was a Ghanaian highlife musician, known as highlife music legend. He is also known for the popular and nationwide hit song Osobro kyee. In January 2020, Stonebwoy with his Bhim Band remixed Osobro kyee titled Sobolo.
Kwame Gyasi (1929–2012) was a Ghanaian highlife musician. He originated the Sikyi highlife sub-genre which combined electric organ with the known highlife genres.
Daniel Kojo Soboh, popularly called Kojo Soboh, is a Ghanaian businessman and event manager. He is the founder of EMY Africa and Carbon AV.
Ghana 