To be remembered as Ghanaian Artiste, do ‘Highlife’ – Guru

• Posted on May 19, 2015
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Arguably one of the best Rappers in Ghana, Nana Yaw Adjei Maradonna, known in Showbiz as Guru has advised colleague Artistes, particularly Rappers to do at least a Highlife song before he/she retires.

Last month, Guru released a Highlife song ‘Medofo’ featuring Kin Dee and answering his motivation for the song, Guru said “Every Ghanaian Artiste who wants to be remembered as a good Artiste should do at least one Highlife song before he/she retires. This is a genre which Ghanaians own. You can hear it from many songs outside Ghana. Even our neighbours are generating a lot of songs from our Highlife so we have to own it proper.”

The world recognizes Highlife on Wikipedia as “Highlife is a music genre that originated in Ghana at the turn of the 20th century and incorporated the traditional harmonic 9th, as well as melodic and the main rhythmic structures in traditional Akan music, and married them with Western instruments and ideas. Highlife was associated with the local African aristocracy during the colonial period. Highlife spread to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gambia and Nigeria via Ghanaian workers, among other West African countries, by the 1930s. It is very popular in Liberia and all of English-speaking West Africa, although little has been produced in other countries due to economic challenges brought on by war and instability” so Guru’s call is prudent.

Guru’s highlife song, ‘Medofo’ featuring Kin Dee below;

Author: Nana Kwesi Coomson (www.233times.net) @nkcoomson on Twitter