Highlife Has Never Died Naf Kassi – Ghanaian Songstress Nafisayu Kassim, popularly known as Naf Kassi has disagreed with the assertion that Highlife music is lost in Ghana’s industry after the rise of Afrobeat.
Speaking with Alltunezgh.com, the ‘Obra’ singer said, the many music genres we the young artistes are experimenting with currently, has the Highlife genre as the default rhythm.
“We are still enjoying highlife but it is in a different form for the youth of today. It will be difficult for highlife to die, because most of the music we listen to today, even the Afrobeat and other genre of music, they all have the rudiments of highlife. Highlife has never died”,
It would be difficult to have the same kind of Highlife that held sway in the 1980s, currently.
Naf Kassi stated that every generation put their own spin on Highlife music and so has the youth of today.
“If you listen to the 1970s Nana Ampadus, then it came to George Darko who changed it using burger beat, making it burger highlife. Then over time, we heard people like Charles Amoah also coming in with their type of Highlife, then Daddy Lumba, then the Daasebere Gyamenas also came to change it.
“After that generation we got Ofori Amponsah. If you listen to all these rhythms, you will see that almost everyone comes with different rhythms. You will see that almost everyone comes with a different form of Highlife. So it will be difficult to have a particular type of highlife play for about 20 years.”
“Kuami Eugene is touted as championing Highlife but I’m sure some of you do not believe his kind of music is Highlife but to go back to our Dr K Gyasi, CK Mann, Nana Ampadu and George Darkos, ET Mensah will never come back.
Naf Kassi who won the Best Female Artist of the Year at the Western Music Awards 2020 is currently out with a beautiful Highlife song dubbed “Yesi Yesi” which is currently making waves across the country
