• About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
  • Login
The Vaultz News
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • General News
    • Education
    • Health
    • Opinions
  • Economics
    • Economy
    • Finance
      • Banking
      • Insurance
      • Pension
    • Securities/Markets
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Vaultz Business
    • Extractives/Energy
    • Real Estate
  • World
    • Africa
    • America
    • Europe
    • UK
    • USA
    • Asia
    • Around the Globe
  • Innovation
    • Technology
    • Wheels
  • Entertainment
  • 20MOBPL2DNew
  • Jobs & Scholarships
    • Job Vacancies
    • Scholarships
No Result
View All Result
The Vaultz News
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • General News
    • Education
    • Health
    • Opinions
  • Economics
    • Economy
    • Finance
      • Banking
      • Insurance
      • Pension
    • Securities/Markets
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Vaultz Business
    • Extractives/Energy
    • Real Estate
  • World
    • Africa
    • America
    • Europe
    • UK
    • USA
    • Asia
    • Around the Globe
  • Innovation
    • Technology
    • Wheels
  • Entertainment
  • 20MOBPL2DNew
  • Jobs & Scholarships
    • Job Vacancies
    • Scholarships
No Result
View All Result
The Vaultz News
No Result
View All Result

Bessa Simons Believes Highlife Should Rival Reggae Globally

Esther Korantemaa Offeiby Esther Korantemaa Offei
August 15, 2025
Reading Time: 5 mins read
Bessa Simons

Bessa Simons

Every nation needs a musical signature: a sound that outsiders immediately associate with a place and that insiders hear as an expression of collective memory.

For Jamaica, Reggae—through the charisma of Bob Marley, the spiritual force of Rastafari, and decades of cultural export—became that signature: a driver of tourism, an instrument of political voice, and a lever of soft power.

Ghana already possesses an indigenous genre with comparable historical depth and expressive range: Highlife.

RelatedPosts

December in Ghana 2025 Launched to Unite Diaspora and Boost Tourism

Broadcaster Condemns Silence Surrounding School Sexual Molestation

KiDi Declares Polygamy Not His Love Style

If Ghana intentionally elevated Highlife—through policy, investment, and branding—it could achieve the cultural and economic returns Jamaica enjoys from Reggae, while safeguarding a musical patrimony threatened by globalization and genre fusions.

The Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) has announced a major cultural initiative to celebrate and preserve the country’s rich musical heritage, with a particular focus on the Highlife genre and its legendary contributors, including the late Daddy Lumba.

MUSIGA President Bessa Simons revealed that plans are underway to establish a National Music Museum and Hall of Fame in collaboration with the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB).

ADVERTISEMENT

The museum will serve as a national archive, housing the history, stories, and achievements of Ghanaian music icons across all genres.

“A special seminar on Highlife music will be organised at the end of the year by stakeholders, including the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Arts Agency, Ghana Tourism Authority, Commission on Culture, and Folklore Board,” Simons said

According to him, efforts to promote Highlife on the global stage began even before Daddy Lumba’s passing. One of MUSIGA’s key goals is to secure UNESCO recognition for Highlife as an intangible cultural heritage, thereby placing it alongside globally celebrated genres such as Reggae.

“We want UNESCO to list Highlife as one of the intangible cultural heritage, making it a cornerstone in discussions around music globally. Just like how Jamaica readily comes to mind at the mention of Reggae, we want it to be the same for Ghana whenever Highlife is mentioned.”

Bessa Simons

He emphasized the importance of inspiring younger generations to appreciate Highlife, describing it as the foundation of many modern Ghanaian sounds. “Too often, the genre is overlooked or dismissed, but it remains the foundation of much of the music we enjoy today. Every modern sound in Ghana carries echoes of Highlife,” he added.

The museum and Hall of Fame will be complemented by tribute concerts, workshops, and exhibitions designed to honour the contributions of music legends and to keep Ghana’s musical traditions alive for future generations.

Bessa Simons Believes Highlife Should Rival Reggae Globally
Bessa Simons

Highlife is among West Africa’s oldest modern popular musics. Artists like E. T. Mensah, Nana Ampadu, Ebo Taylor, and others shaped not just sound but social commentary, national ceremonies, and political discourse during decolonization and after. Its rhythms and narratives are repositories of Ghanaian life across generations.

Highlife has shown a capacity to evolve—feeding into hiplife, Afrobeat fusions, and global collaborations—making it a bridge between tradition and contemporary popular music.

Unlike Reggae, which has been deliberately branded and institutionalized abroad and at home, Highlife lacks consistent national branding and international marketing despite its rich archives and diaspora interest.

Reggae has been central to Jamaica’s global image, conveying political critique, spirituality, and resilience. Music tourism, festivals, merchandise, and licensing around Reggae contribute to the economy.

UNESCO’s listing of Reggae as intangible cultural heritage (2018) and domestic investment in cultural infrastructure reinforced its status.

Ghana can adapt these lessons without copying Jamaica’s specifics—using Highlife’s unique history and contemporary forms to build a Ghanaian musical brand.

Concrete Benefits of Elevating Highlife

Concrete Benefits of Elevating Highlife
Bessa Simons

Formal recognition encourages archiving, academic study, and intergenerational transmission, protecting Highlife from being subsumed without record by globalized trends.

Festivals, heritage tours, museums, streaming promotion, and IP licensing create jobs across the creative economy—musicians, technicians, hospitality, and designers.

A “Highlife Week,” museum, and international festivals would attract niche cultural tourists and generate year-round visitation. Highlife-centered cultural diplomacy—tours, exchanges, partnerships—could strengthen Ghana’s profile in Africa and the diaspora, much as Reggae did for Jamaica.

Addressing Challenges and Objections

Addressing Challenges and Objections
Bessa Simons

Promoting Highlife does not exclude other genres; it acts as a cultural anchor that amplifies contemporary fusions (hiplife, Afrobeat). Strategic promotion preserves heritage while enabling innovation.

Elevation strategies should not be museumification; Highlife promotion must include contemporary reinterpretations and collaborations with current stars to keep it relevant.

Investment in cultural industries yields multiplier effects in tourism, jobs, and youth entrepreneurship. Modest, well-targeted funding can generate outsized returns.

Highlife already performs much of what Reggae does for Jamaica: it carries history, identity, and creative energy. What it lacks is a concentrated, strategic effort to translate cultural richness into a national symbol, economic engine, and diplomatic tool.

Ghana’s government, creative sector, cultural institutions, and diaspora should partner to document, promote, and rebrand Highlife—through UNESCO recognition, education, festivals, media campaigns, and industry support.

Doing this, Highlife becomes the unmistakable soundtrack of Ghana on the world stage—an enduring cultural patrimony that informs national pride, spurs economic growth, and carries Ghana’s voice across the globe.

READ ALSO: Bright Simons Urges Strict Adherence To Disaster Protocols

Tags: bessa simonsBob MarleyhighlifeJamaicareggaeUNESCO
Share1Tweet1ShareSendSend
Please login to join discussion
Previous Post

President Mahama to Lead Ruthless Fight Against Galamsey

Next Post

President Mahama Engages GCF on Boosting Climate Finance for Ghana

Related Posts

Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie, Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture
Entertainment

December in Ghana 2025 Launched to Unite Diaspora and Boost Tourism

October 14, 2025
MzGee
Entertainment

Broadcaster Condemns Silence Surrounding School Sexual Molestation

October 14, 2025
kidi1
Entertainment

KiDi Declares Polygamy Not His Love Style

October 13, 2025
C-Real
Entertainment

Calls for Stronger PR Strategy for Ghana’s GRAMMY Submissions

October 13, 2025
Daddy Lumba and Odo Broni
Entertainment

Lawyers Declare Odo Broni as Recognized Wife of Daddy Lumba

October 12, 2025
Kwaw Kese
Entertainment

Kwaw Kese Questions Credibility of Music Awards

October 10, 2025
Hon. John Jinapor
Extractives/Energy

600 million People in Africa Lack Electricity – John Jinapor

by Bless Banir YarayeOctober 28, 2025
Agribusiness

Anticipate the Rollout of “Nkuko Nkitinkiti” in Nov. – Dumelo

by Michael Teye-Bio NaduteyOctober 28, 2025
Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, at the launch of Cedi @60
General News

Cedi @60: Ghana Cedi Hasn’t Just Recovered, It’s Soared – Vice President Hails Currency’s Resilience

by Evans Junior OwuOctober 28, 2025
Dr. Adomako Kissi, Former Member of Parliament for the Anyaa Sowutuom Constituency
General News

Don’t Announce Unplanned Policies; Dr. Adomako Admonishes Ministers of State

by Emmanuel Tibila BoasahOctober 28, 2025
Asia

Cloud Seeding Trial Conducted In Parts Of New Delhi

by Comfort AmpomaaOctober 28, 2025
Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh
General News

Health Minister Commends NHIA’s Progress, Calls for End to Co-Payments

by Silas Kafui AssemOctober 28, 2025
Hon. John Jinapor
Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, at the launch of Cedi @60
Dr. Adomako Kissi, Former Member of Parliament for the Anyaa Sowutuom Constituency
Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh

Recent News

Hon. John Jinapor

600 million People in Africa Lack Electricity – John Jinapor

October 28, 2025

Anticipate the Rollout of “Nkuko Nkitinkiti” in Nov. – Dumelo

October 28, 2025
Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, at the launch of Cedi @60

Cedi @60: Ghana Cedi Hasn’t Just Recovered, It’s Soared – Vice President Hails Currency’s Resilience

October 28, 2025
Dr. Adomako Kissi, Former Member of Parliament for the Anyaa Sowutuom Constituency

Don’t Announce Unplanned Policies; Dr. Adomako Admonishes Ministers of State

October 28, 2025
3W6VVHFPCJI4ZBMH7NQE4GS3EM

Cloud Seeding Trial Conducted In Parts Of New Delhi

October 28, 2025
The Vaultz News

Copyright © 2025 The Vaultz News. All rights reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • General News
    • Education
    • Health
    • Opinions
  • Economics
    • Economy
    • Finance
      • Banking
      • Insurance
      • Pension
    • Securities/Markets
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Vaultz Business
    • Extractives/Energy
    • Real Estate
  • World
    • Africa
    • America
    • Europe
    • UK
    • USA
    • Asia
    • Around the Globe
  • Innovation
    • Technology
    • Wheels
  • Entertainment
  • 20MOBPL2D
  • Jobs & Scholarships
    • Job Vacancies
    • Scholarships

Copyright © 2025 The Vaultz News. All rights reserved.

Discover the Details behind the story

Get an in-depth analysis of the news from our top editors

Enter your email address