We Despise Songs Made In Ghana - DJ Ashmen

DJ Ashmen has stated that Ghanaians need to appreciate their own products more.

According to him, Ghanaians would rather reject a homegrown quality product just to take a substandard international product.

He maintained that the terrible attitude has been part of Ghanaians since time immemorial.

Using highlife music as an example, he recalled how the Nigerians picked up the highlife music that Ghanaians had rejected and made it into something Ghanaians now want to do even though it was the Ghanaians that created it in the first place.

“We don’t like to our own songs. We don’t like stuff made in Ghana and it’s sad. This attitude of ours did not start now. The Nigerians picked our highlife which we have rejected, dusted it up and re-branded it into afrobeat. For instance, Burna Boy’s odogwu song is a typical example of Kwao. Kwao originated from Coast just like Kpanlongo did from the Ga tribe,”

DJ Ashmen noted that the term highlife was given to Ghanaians because they were seen as highlife people by their colonisers.

Per history, Ghana was the only country in West Africa that had the opportunity to use the guitar and many others that were classified as sophisticated gadgets.

“We sampled our highlife music from other people. The guitar which has become very common nowadays was first introduced in Ghana by the Portuguese. In those days, Ghana was the only country in West Africa that resorted to using high-end equipment. We were nicknamed, ‘High life people’ because we were surrounded by most countries who were not fortunate like us. They only had basic instruments.”

This he said in an interview on GhanaWeb TV's Talkertainment show.

Highlife is said to have originated in Ghana in the late 19th century, later spread to western Nigeria, and flourished in both countries in the 1950s.

The earliest form of highlife was performed primarily by brass bands along the Ghanaian coast.

Born Michael Mensah Ashley, DJ Ashmen grew up amongst his younger male siblings somewhere in the late 1980s in Accra.

He had family members in Nigeria who will come to Ghana, on visits, with some Nigerian music that he would always listen to.

He has music for all generations due to his love for music and also finding himself during the important years of Ghanaian music’s growth.

From Palm wine Highlife, Burger Highlife, down to the Highlife of the late 1990s and 2000 through to the birth of Hiplife, and what we now call “Afrobeats”, DJ Ashmen will move you with each selection from any generation you belong to!