Veteran highlife musician Nana Agyeman has argued that many songs being labeled as “highlife” today lack the genre’s defining elements and sound more like afrobeats.
In an interview with Adom TV, Agyeman explained that true highlife music relies on specific instruments like guitars and certain drum patterns.
He added that if such instruments are removed and other sounds are added, it takes away the authenticity of the highlife song.
“Many people compose songs and label them as highlife and say music is dynamic. But if you compose a song and remove key instruments like the guitar and the drums and add R&B or afrobeats, then that is not highlife. It is afrobeats,” he stated.
He dismissed the idea of labels like “afrobeats mixed with highlife,” insisting artistes must choose one genre.
“If it were highlife you were doing, you wouldn’t have brought afrobeats into it. You can’t say it is afrobeats mixed with highlife. You have to choose,” he added.
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