Highlife music is being destroyed by young artists, says Naa Agyeman

Highlife music is Naa Agyeman's passion, and he feels that the new generation of artists aren't doing it properly.

Highlife music is being destroyed by young artists, says Naa Agyeman

As a result, he is appealing to the more experienced artists in the genre to band together and rescue the genre by showing the newer artists how it should be done.

According to the creator of the Slow Motion hit, the new artists are currently producing Afrobeats and R&B instead of Highlife, and it will take some of them (the older musicians) to teach them how to make true Highlife music.

"A Highlife song requires a lot of work. We should hear the bass, guitars, percussion, and other instruments for the beats. Even the singing itself is distinct. You cannot do Afrobeats and call it Highlife while sounding like a Nigerian. 

The majority of the songs that our young musicians are releasing these days are not Highlife.

The young people may learn a lot from people like Amakye Dede, Daddy Lumba, Gyedu Blay Ambolley, Amandzeba, Ben Brako, Oheneba Kissi, Kojo Antwi, and myself, among others.

Because highlife is what distinguishes us as Ghanaian musicians, we are more than eager to teach them everything they need to know about it, he told the Daily Graphic.

Naa Agyeman proposed workshops where the more experienced musicians would instruct the younger ones. He explained that the more experienced musicians had all the knowledge to impart to the younger players.

"I think our Highlife music can get back on its feet if similar meetings are held regularly with assistance from the government.

"Highlife is not dead to me; it's just that there are now so few musicians performing it, and I don't think that's the greatest. I can name Highlife artists like Kofi Kinaata, Akwaboah, and a select few more. Naa Agyeman stated, "We should encourage more young musicians to participate.

Naa Agyeman began his musical career around twenty years ago. He was born to Mr. Kwasi Anane and Madam Ama Serwaa in Boamang Soko, in the Ashanti Region. In 2000, he issued his debut record, Araba. In 2002, he followed it up with Mr. Ode. He first released Kwame Ahe in 2004 and Kwahu Bepoe in 2006.

After releasing Kwahu Bepoe, Naa Agyeman took a considerable pause to handle other business matters until releasing Mmbaa Pe in 2019.