The Root of the Ghana Highlife Music comes from Liberia. It is the Liberian influence that make the Ghanaian and Nigerian music where they are today. Liberians should love and respect their traditional music. Highlife plays a key part in the musical heritage of Africa and its influence can be heard in a variety of modern-day styles.
In Ghana, they have added rap and called it Hiplife. In Nigeria..., you have Afrobeat or Juju, in Sierra Leone, Palm-wine music and, of course, there is Congolese rhumba and soukous.
All have their roots in "hilife".
But essentially Highlife is associated with a pre-independence sound that arose in the 1950s incorporating elements of swing, jazz and Cuban rhythms with the emerging guitar styles of West Africa.
Its roots, according to Ghanaian musicologist John Collins, are in the small portable instruments carried by sea-farers like the Liberian "Kru" mariners aka the Grebo Liberians.
The Kru travelled the West African coast even before Europeans arrived and were later employed on British and American steam-ships.
They played accordion, concertina, harmonica, penny whistle, banjo, mandolin and especially the Spanish guitar with which they developed the oppositional thumb and finger-plucking style.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/
In Ghana, they have added rap and called it Hiplife. In Nigeria..., you have Afrobeat or Juju, in Sierra Leone, Palm-wine music and, of course, there is Congolese rhumba and soukous.
All have their roots in "hilife".
But essentially Highlife is associated with a pre-independence sound that arose in the 1950s incorporating elements of swing, jazz and Cuban rhythms with the emerging guitar styles of West Africa.
Its roots, according to Ghanaian musicologist John Collins, are in the small portable instruments carried by sea-farers like the Liberian "Kru" mariners aka the Grebo Liberians.
The Kru travelled the West African coast even before Europeans arrived and were later employed on British and American steam-ships.
They played accordion, concertina, harmonica, penny whistle, banjo, mandolin and especially the Spanish guitar with which they developed the oppositional thumb and finger-plucking style.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/
ReplyDeleteHey,This would actually be a great song if they didn't rap too much. Nice beat, perfect use of dialect and the singer has a nice voice. I am not sure why Liberians over do the rapping. Africans in Liberia and out don't really listen to African music with alot of rapping. If we want rap we will listen to American artist.
Majority of Africans prefer singing over rapping when it comes to African music.Thanks to all!!
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