Highlife is a music genre that started in West Africa, 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 describes 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.
Guy Warren of Ghana, also known as Kofi Ghanaba, was a Ghanaian musician, most notable as the inventor of Afro-jazz — "the reuniting of African-American jazz with its African roots" — and as a member of The Tempos, alongside E. T. Mensah. He also inspired musicians such as Fela Kuti. Warren's virtuosity on the African drums earned him the appellation "The Divine Drummer". At different stages of his life, he additionally worked as a journalist, DJ and broadcaster.
Leslie Coleman McCann was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. He is known for his innovations in soul jazz and his 1969 recording of the protest song "Compared to What". His music has been widely sampled in hip hop.
The Ga-Dangbe, Ga-Dangme, Ga-Adangme or GaDangme are an ethnic group in Ghana, Togo and Benin. The Ga and Dangbe people are grouped respectively 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. Ethnic Ga family names (surnames) include Nikoi, Amon, Kotey, Kotei, Adei, Adjei, Kutorkor, Oblitey, Lartey, Nortey, Aryee, Obodai, Oboshi, Torgbor, Torshii and Lante. The following are names derived from the ethnic Dangme and common among the Ningos Nartey, Tetteh, Kwei, Kweinor, Kwetey, Narteh, Narh, Dugbatey, Teye, Martey, Addo, Siaw, Saki, Amanor, Djangba. These are aligned to the ethnic Ga as well: Lomo, Lomotey, Tetteh, Ankrah, Tetteyfio, Laryea, Ayitey, Okai, Bortey, Quaye, Quaynor, Ashong, Kotei, Sowah, Odoi, Ablor, Adjetey, Dodoo, Darku and Quartey.
Articles related to Ghana include:
The Ghana Army is the principal land warfare force of Ghana. In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast became independent from the British Empire, the Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal West African Frontier Force and formed the basis for the new Ghanaian army. Together with the Ghana Air Force and Ghana Navy, the Ghana Army makes up the Ghana Armed Forces, which is controlled by the Ghanaian Ministry of Defence and Central Defence Headquarters, both of which are located in the Greater Accra Region.
Nii-lante Augustus Kwamlah Quaye, known professionally as Cab Kaye, was an English jazz singer and pianist of Ghanaian descent. He combined blues, stride piano, and scat with his Ghanaian heritage.
Beattie Casely-Hayford was a Ghanaian engineer. He was the first director of the Ghana Arts Council, a co-founder of the Ghana National Dance Ensemble, and a director of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).
Ghanaian Arabs are Ghanaians and citizens of Arab origin or descent. Ghanaian Arabs are mainly from Lebanon, Syria and Arab Maghreb. Ghana has the largest Arab population in western Africa.
Yacub Addy was a Ghanaian traditional drummer, composer, choreographer and educator who collaborated with many musicians in various genres, including Wynton Marsalis. He has been referred to as "the leading ambassador of Ghanaian music and culture".
Thomas Owusu Mensah was a Ghanaian-American chemical engineer and inventor who contributed to the development of fiber optic manufacturing and nanotechnology. He had 14 patents, and was inducted into the US National Academy of Inventors in 2015. In 2017, Mensah served as editor-in-chief of the textbook Nanotechnology Commercialization, published by John Wiley & Sons.
Teddy Osei is a musician and saxophone player from Ghana. Osei is best known as the leader of the Afro-pop band Osibisa, founded in 1969. Born in Kumasi, Osei was introduced to musical instruments while still a child. He began to play the saxophone while attempting to create a band with his college friends in the coastal city of Sekondi. After graduating from college, he worked as a building inspector for a year before creating a band called "The Comets." The Comets enjoyed brief popularity before Osei traveled to London in 1962. He received a grant from the Ghanaian government to study at a private music and drama school for three years, before being forced to leave by a regime change in Ghana. In 1969, he founded Osibisa along with several other musicians. The band remained popular through the 1970s, before experiencing a decline, although it continues to perform today.
The history of African Americans in Ghana goes back to individuals such as American civil rights activist and writer W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963), who settled in Ghana in the last years of his life and is buried in the capital, Accra. Since then, other African Americans who are descended from slaves imported from areas within the present-day jurisdiction of Ghana and neighboring states have applied for permanent resident status in Ghana. As of 2015, the number of African American residents has been estimated at around 3,000 people, a large portion of whom live in Accra.
Anthony Owura-Akuaku, known by his stage name Nenebi, is a Ghanaian spoken word artist, poet, songwriter, performer, and storyteller. He began his entertainment career at the age of 11 when he started reading self-written poetry on Garden City Radio in Kumasi. In January 2013, Nenebi turned down his dream job as a columnist for Graphic Showbiz, Ghana's leading entertainment newspaper, to focus on his poetry and songwriting career.
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.
Soul To Soul is the soundtrack to the concert film Soul to Soul released on Atlantic Records in 1971.
Mike Eghan is a Ghanaian broadcaster, also known as "The Magnificent Emperor". In a career as a disc jockey and radio presenter spanning six decades, Eghan hosted programmes for the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and for the BBC World Service in London. He was the master of ceremonies for the historic concert in Ghana Soul to Soul, which took place in Black Star Square in 1971 and showcased many prominent African-American artists alongside Ghanaian musicians.
Abdul Moomen Muslim known professionally as Chief Moomen is a Ghanaian poet, playwright and creative entrepreneur. He is best known for creating the Ghanaian historical epic - WogbeJeke: Our Journey, a theatrical reenactment of the history of Ghana from ancient to modern times, directed by Joyce Anima Misa Amoah. In March 2017, the play was chosen as the official theatre showpiece to celebrate Ghana’s 60th Anniversary.
