Legendary Ghanaian guitarist, Ackah Blay
Legendary Ghanaian guitarist, Ackah Blay, has lamented a ‘disconnect’ between the country’s veteran musicians and new, emerging artistes.
Speaking in an interview with GhanaWeb’s Isaac Dadzie at the fourth edition of the African Music Business Dialogue (AMBD), on March 28, 2025, Blay stated that many younger artistes see the older generation as ignorant and refuse to associate with them.
“Most of the younger artistes think the older generation do not know anything or are archaic. And because of that, they don’t want anything to do with us.
“The younger ones are not coming to us. I mean, you won’t expect your teacher to come to you to ask you do you want to learn something today? No. You always have to go to your teacher,” he said.
He added that such attitudes would negatively affect efforts at preserving Ghana’s cultural heritage through Highlife music, stating, “We have our culture as Ghanaians; you cannot go to China and sell Chinese food. You can only sell what we have, and that is Highlife.”
Blay also acknowledged the role of veteran musicians in bridging this gap, noting that the older generation haven’t made learning easily accessible for younger artists.
He highlighted the scarcity of Ghanaian musical content online, particularly for aspiring musicians, and urged his peers to share more resources to facilitate learning.
“We, the older ones, haven’t put much content online for the younger ones to consume, to learn. Especially me, I’m a guitar player. I’m trying my best to put some content, some Ghanaian rhythms, online so that the younger ones can learn from it. But apart from me, who else?
“The younger ones go online and then they have nothing Ghanaian to learn. They just learn what is online. So, that is why I will encourage my mates to try our best to put a lot on of content online so that the younger ones can learn,” he added.
The African Music Business Dialogue, themed “Unlocking Africa’s Creative Potential,” was a platform for networking, education, and collaboration among artistes, managers, producers, record labels, policymakers, and other industry stakeholders.
The conference was aimed at fostering discussions on the business aspects of African music, promoting collaboration between African and international music markets, and educate industry stakeholders on essential topics such as copyright, royalties, and digital distribution.
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