Artiste manager and entertainment pundit, Emmanuel Barnes, popularly known as Mr Logic, has urged industry players to substitute “Highlife” with “Afrobeat” as Ghana’s indigenous genre.
According to him, the western world is hooked on the mindset that every song that comes from Africa is “Afro” hence the need for musicians in Ghana to toe the line.
“If you listen to Kelvyn Boy’s Down Flat and you check it with Wizkid and the other guys it’s the same thing, I mean Afrobeats. What has been sold already is good for us to leverage. Sark, Shatta can’t say they doing Highlife when they go international because Kwabena Kwabena and Akwaboah won’t allow that.”
He continued, “the same thing you are calling Highlife is Afrobeat. The white doesn’t care about skin colour they see all of us as blacks.”
Speaking further on Adom TV‘s Showtyme with Andy Dosty, Mr Logic emphasised that there’s no need for a Ghanaian Identity of music.
He explained that Nigerians had already sold the term “Afro” as any sound coming from Africa, hence there is no need to push other tags that will distort the trail.
“We don’t need a Ghanaian identity of music. It won’t be easy to have any of our sub-genres outside. As a continent, we all have to leverage it. The Afrobeats is not for any man. They knew the white can relate to the coin, Afrobeat.’
Mr Logic further urged Ghanaians to pay mind to the history of what led Ghanaian music to be called “Highlife”.
It is up to the generation to look for that loophole taken in their absence. The western world is always focused on evolution, changing its system. We are not prone to changes which is why we never move forward.”
“Where is the Highlife coming from? Some people think Highlife is a language… But when you sing Highlife in Krobo, they don’t regard it. Why did we accept to call it Highlife when it had so many sub-genres? We have Amponsah, Kwaw, Palm Wine Music and all these elements.”
Talking about Highlife’s history, he said: “The whites called the local boys to come and play songs every weekend. They were living a high life and the boys were playing the band for them and they decided to call it highlife music. Daddy Lumba, Kojo Antwi and Paapa Nyankson… The fact that they didn’t change it doesn’t mean we should accept it.”
Mr Logic further asked Ghanaian musicians to champion Osibisa’s name just like how Wizkid, Burna Boy and other Nigerians deliberately mention Fela Kuti’s name on international platforms.
“What is our mother’s genre? They will say Highlife… Sarkodie, Stonebwoy and Shatta, they are all not Highlife artistes. Those who champion it where are they internationally? You realise there is a problem. The Nigerians have used Fela’s Afrobeats and it has gone international and the whites know every Afro is African.”
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