Veteran Ghanaian hi-life musician, Rex Owusu Marfo popularly known as Rex Omar has blamed Ghanaians for the collapse on highlife music.
In an interview with host Ibrahim Ben Bako on Joy Prime’s Red Carpet entertainment review, Rex Omar said the taste for foreign music has been inimical to the growth of the local music industry.
He cited how Nigerian artistes have incorporated the highlife rhythm in their songs which has generated a lot of revenue for them.
The ‘Abiba’ hit maker could not fathom why the Ghanaian media have stopped promoting highlife which is an indigenous music genr.
“We have used the media to play certain type of songs to the extent that now the same people will turn out and ask why the highlife music is dying. Flavour took an old highlife track and reinvented it into a hit track. I get sad. Why is it that anything Ghanaian is not good for the Ghanaian? Anything that comes from Ghanaian they will rather embrace a foreign one…” he fumed.
He continued that, “I don’t know if it’s a curse of stupidity. We are inventors of highlife. As we run way from it others have picked it up and making millions out of this. And it is the media. That is the problem. What are we doing? There are many people who have done highlife songs and the Ghanaian media will not play…”.
Rex Omar who is the Chairman of the Ghana Music Rights Organization (GHAMRO) further pledged his term in office will upgrade the welfare of various musicians and entertainers across the country.
“I want GHAMRO to be the best of collection royalties. In terms of transparency, accountability, welfare to cover private help, life insurance and private pension. We can’t let people use people’s properties and go Scot free. We have agreed as a board to know the plans of the family…”
Rex Omar is set to release two albums in the first quarter of 2018.