Veteran highlife musician Amandzeba has expressed concern over Ghanaians’ apparent lack of enthusiasm in promoting and preserving the highlife music genre. Speaking on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z with Kwame Dadzie, Amandzeba noted that despite highlife’s deep roots in Ghanaian culture and its potential to represent the nation on the global stage, efforts to elevate the genre have been inadequate.
His comments came during a discussion on UNESCO’s initiative to recognize highlife as an intangible cultural heritage.
“Collectively, we seem to have failed. We tend to trivialize our heritage—everything. The Chinese can replicate our kente and exploit our heritage while we remain silent, admiring what is already ours. This applies to music as well. Highlife, from its inception, influenced people across the coast, reaching as far as Zaire, Congo, and beyond. Icons like Fela Kuti, Miriam Makeba, and Hugh Masekela were drawn here because of highlife,” he said.
Amandzeba further shared that many international music icons often question what Ghana is doing to preserve and promote highlife. While he commended the National Folklore Board’s efforts to have highlife listed by UNESCO, he emphasized the critical role of the media in ensuring the genre’s longevity.
Recently, Ama Serwah Nerquaye-Tetteh, Secretary General of the Ghana Commission for UNESCO, revealed that highlife is on track to be listed as Ghana’s intangible cultural heritage. This follows numerous conferences and engagements organized by the Ghana Folklore Board and the Ghana Cultural Forum to advance this goal.
Intangible cultural heritage, as defined by UNESCO, encompasses practices, expressions, knowledge, or skills that form part of a community’s cultural identity. Unlike tangible heritage, such as monuments or artifacts, intangible heritage includes elements like folklore, traditions, beliefs, and language.
Globally, UNESCO has recognized music genres like Jamaica’s reggae and Congo’s rhumba as intangible cultural heritage. Ghana’s highlife could soon join this prestigious list, highlighting its cultural significance and global influence.