Ghanaian musicians, Abiana and Fameye have expressed a unified conviction that elevating highlife music should be a priority as it has the potential to win Ghana its first Grammy Awards.
The two who are promoting their new collaboration, ‘Far Away’, delved into the perception of highlife and its potential for international recognition.
Abiana and Fameye firmly asserted that Highlife possesses the caliber and depth required to make a significant impact on the global stage, moreover, could potentially win a Grammy award.
They emphasized that while new genres like Ghana Drill are gaining traction, highlife remains an iconic and resonant genre that holds immense potential.
They pointed out:
“Ghana Drill is there but high life is the thing. We should pay more attention to the highlife. Even Drill has components of highlife in there”.
Fameye and Abiana
Both artists urged fellow musicians and industry stakeholders to rally behind Highlife and foster a renewed appreciation for its cultural significance and global appeal.
Abiana and Fameye painted a picture of a vibrant music scene grappling with complex dynamics including the current situation where most DJs will play 80% Afrobeats over authentic Ghanaian music.
Their shared enthusiasm for highlife and its enduring potential illuminated the need to amplify the genre, allowing it to flourish both within Ghana’s borders and beyond.
Abiana said:
“We are still banging to the Highlife the old people did so then what is different from what we are doing?? It’s just that people have been preconditioned that Afrobeats is the ‘ishhh’ now. If you go to pubs the playlists of the DJ’s are fully Afrobeats so immediately the Highlife is mixed people start questioning the tunes”.
Abiana
Fameye reveals he would decline an invitation to perform at Afronation
Ghanaian musician, Fameye disclosed that he would decline an invitation to perform at Afronation for now because he is not prepared.
According to him, he won’t go and do anything upon his invitation to perform because his fellow colleagues who are tagged as international artists do not really have the support while performing outside the country.
He stated:
“I won’t go because I don’t have the people there. I want to work more so that when I go there, I’ll relate and I know that I have certain people that I am matching with.
“Most of our so-called international artists are unable to make their numbers when they travel out to perform”.
Fameye
The ‘Praise’ hitmaker disclosed that his fellow artists do not show up when they go outside the country to perform, adding that they do not support themselves.
Also, he said Ghanaian artists keep canceling their shows outside the country because they do not have their very own to support them because they feel too shy to jam to their songs, so they will not make it to the show at all, adding that the artists only sing their songs at shows only when they see people from Ghana.
Talking about his recent performance at the U.K. last week, he said only a few people came even though he was expecting many people to be present there.
He recalled a concert he witnessed just last year In New York which had renowned artists in Ghana performing, but was disheartened because it had just a few people attending.
The musician noted that Nigerian artists usually featured Ghanaian artists during shows but everything changed all of a sudden because Ghanaians now find themselves chasing Nigerians for features.
He disclosed that they are not supporting themselves in anything anymore recounting that it wasn’t like that before.
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