Rex Omar Is Not Happy Ghanaian Djs And Presenters Are Killing Highlife Music

Veteran musician and chairman of Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO), Rex Omar has accused DJ’s and radio presenters of killing Highlife music. Lots of stakeholders have complained about t the roles the TV and radio stations are playing in connection with the dwindling fortunes of the only identity Ghanaian have in music, yet nothing is being done about it.

According to Wikipedia Highlife is a music genre that originated in Ghana at the turn of the 20th century and incorporated the traditional harmonic 9th, as well as melodic and the main rhythmic structures in traditional Akan music, and married them with Western instruments.

Highlife was associated with the local African aristocracy during the colonial period. By the 1930s, Highlife spread via Ghanaian workers to Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Gambia among other West African countries, where the music is now very popular.

Highlife has a part to play in most of the present day Ghanaian and Nigerian music as most of their artistes fuse it with their style of music. However the genre is gradually sliding into oblivion and that is what Rex Omar is worried about. In an interview with Happy FM, the Abiba crooner expressed his displeasure on how high life songs are not promoted.

“We’ve so many radio stations in Ghana but how many DJ’s or presenters play our high life songs?. We often hear the foreign songs and by doing this they help in promoting those songs but our own highlife songs they forget about them.

Some DJ’s and presenter expect artiste to pay them before they make their song a hit but the question is… Do these foreign artists pay them for making their songs a hit in our country? As an artist at least you need to appreciate the work of the DJ or presenter but that should not always be the routine in order for our songs to be played out there.

One DJ or presenter can decide to make our high life songs a hit if he is dedicated. He should know that the song will eventually give Ghana a plus and not only the artiste,” he concluded.