According to celebrated Ghanaian Highlife musician, Amandzeba Nat Brew, younger musicians should come to the realisation that Fela Kuti’s popular Afrobeat would not have been successful without highlife influence.
In his assertion, the success of Nigerian icon Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat, would not have been possible without Fela’s collaboration with Ghanaian musicians like Uncle Ebo Taylor.
In an interview with Hitz FM, the ‘Wogbe Dzeke’ hitmaker shared his insights on the influence of Ghanaian Highlife music on various African music genres.
According to him, the blend of highlife, Jazz, and Juju music created a unique sound that resonated globally.
“Fela’s Afrobeat would not have been very successful if he hadn’t stopped his band and come down here and work with our people like Uncle Ebo Taylor. So Fela combined Highlife, Jazz and Juju music.
“If you ask anyone, they will tell you Afrobeat and all other sounds… are based on the sound that is coming from here,” he said.
He also noted that genres like Amapiano, when scrutinized, reveal that “the rhythm is even from here.”
He explained that attempting to fit African music strictly into Western melodic forms can undermine its essence.
“For us in Africa, particularly Ghana, our languages are very tonal, so if you want to produce a song and you don’t study it, you may think it’s difficult… So, when you want to strictly set in in a Western melodic form, it defeats the very definition of Highlife.
“Because most of us are quite a bit lazy in producing work, you may ignore it and listen to what is coming from outside,” he said.
