The Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) has unveiled plans to establish an annual national competition dedicated to highlife music, aiming to elevate the genre and enhance its global relevance.
In a recent interview on Joy Prime’s Prime Morning show, MUSIGA President Bessa Simons emphasized the integral connection between Ghana and highlife music, asserting that fostering this genre helps define the country’s musical identity. “Ghana cannot be distinguished from highlife music,” Simons stated. “Paying attention to the genre makes it an authentic identity for musicians.”
MUSIGA is committed to promoting highlife music and has announced the introduction of a yearly national contest for highlife artists. “We’re going to launch a music competition every year, and the winner will get something very attractive,” Simons revealed.
Additionally, Simons indicated that the union plans to enhance the highlife category in the Telecel Ghana Music Awards, ensuring that the prize for this genre is substantial. This initiative is designed to motivate artists to produce high-quality highlife music and strengthen its authenticity.
Simons believes that positioning highlife as a national brand will attract global interest. “Once we intentionally make highlife a national brand so that wherever you go, you’ll hear highlife, and we’ll channel highlife to Ghana, that will help us because people will come looking for us rather than we, going looking for them,” he explained.
The MUSIGA President also urged Ghanaians to support and promote highlife music by actively listening to it and participating in its advancement. This call to action comes in response to recent comments by songstress Adina, who encouraged music lovers to embrace highlife to inspire more artists to explore the genre.
By rallying behind highlife music, Simons hopes to create a thriving environment for the genre and encourage musicians to integrate its elements into other musical styles.
