Ghanaian highlife singer Adane Best, celebrated for his rich Ga melodies, has expressed disappointment over the lack of respect and recognition for the highlife genre in Ghana.
According to him, many Ghanaian musicians no longer hold highlife in high esteem, despite it being the foundation of the country’s music.
In an interview with Mike 2 on Adom FM’s Entertainment Hall show, Adane Best lamented how highlife is often dismissed while others outside the country are embracing and evolving the genre.
“We condemn highlife, and now people have taken it and are using it well. We need to recognize that it’s ours. While we can’t play it exactly like in the past, we can improve on it. But the way we condemn and make highlife seem useless is what bothers me,” he stated.
Adane Best acknowledged that, younger musicians are still playing highlife but have changed the sound to suit modern tastes.
“Nowadays, the kids are playing highlife, but they’ve improved it. It’s only the name that has changed. Now, they call it Afropop,” he explained.
Echoing Adane Best’s sentiments, fellow musician George Jahraa, who was also on the show, said the shift in names is similar to the evolution of other genres like reggae.
“Reggae used to be called Ska, now we have dancehall and Ragga. It’s just a name change, but the pattern remains the same,” Jahraa said during the show.