Highlife legend, Gyedu Blay Ambolley, is blaming the organisers of Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) for causing the collapse of highlife.
The man who is credited as the originator of rap said that, the scheme over the years has evolved into giving foreigners a false impression of music representation in Ghana.
“It is unfortunate that people think when you sing in Twi or Fante over a Dancehall or Reggae beats it automatically makes it highlife music. That is not true but it has become the norm over the years because these are the kinds of music VGMA rewards.”
“Today, if anyone wants to have an idea of what Ghana represents in terms of music, I bet the person will not count any highlife artiste since all the perceived big acts currently are not doing highlife.”
“We have buried our own and pursuing Dancehall music and the likes and interestingly, the VGMA has been promoting the agenda by rewarding such artistes with the topmost prizes,” he mentioned.
Touching on how the media has also contributed to the frail nature of the highlife music now, he added that; “The media cannot be absolved from what is happening to highlife music now. They don’t do their own research to ask critical questions.”
“For instance, if An artiste plays Reggae beats and sings Twi or Fante, we call it highlife music which is totally wrong because highlife has its own beats.
“Also, the members on the Selection Committee of VGMA are also guilty because they don’t make the right selection. So if critics say Highlife music is dying, it means some people are not doing their homework well,” he added.
