An award scheme aimed at protecting Highlife Music (HMA) and ensuring the heritage of the country’s forefathers from distortion had been launched in Accra.
According to the organisers, Nikills World Multimedia, the scheme is focused on making Highlife a revered music genre and also to honour artises for holding to it.
Speaking at the launch which was held at Movenpick Hotel, the Public Relations Officer of Nikills World, Nana Adwoa Anane said, it would be a blend of oldies and new sensation, with the main event scheduled for June 22, at the National Theatre.
She told the gathering that, the nominations for various categories and various guidelines would be released very soon.
Launching it, the President of the Musicians Union of Ghana, (MUSIGA), Bice Osei Kufour, affectionately called Obour, urged all and sundry to put their shoulders to the wheel to make the event a success.
On his part, the Vice President of the MUSIGA, and a veteran highlife musician, Bessah Simons said, “Highlife is our identity as a people, it was the curfew imposed at a point which made some great musicians leave the shores of the country,”
He said that this unfortunate situation created a void for live band music, making spinners to commercialise rap music, and distort the original highlife music.
He was of the view that such events must be supported to protect highlife music.
The Chairman of the Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO), Rex Omar, said the birth of the award scheme was timely, and advised organisers to invite the right people, who were versed in highlife music for a credible outcome.
A renowned sound engineer, Zapp Mallet, said highlife was a legacy that must be protected, adding that it was his hope that it would be expanded to a festival in future.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
