Music of Ghana
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There are many styles of
The best known modern genre originating in Ghana is Highlife.[4] For many years, Highlife was the preferred music genre until the introduction of Hiplife and many others.[5][6]
Traditional music
The traditional musicology of
- The northern musical traditions belong to the wider or praise-singing traditions.
- The music of the coast is associated with social functions, and relies on complex harp-lutewhich had its origins in the stringed harps of the north and west.
Gold Coast period
During the Gold Coast era, the area was a hotbed of musical syncretism. Rhythms especially from gombe and ashiko, guitar-styles such as mainline and osibisaba, European brass bands and sea shanties, were all combined into a melting pot that became high-life.
Mid-20th century and the invention of Ghanaian pop
Guitar-bands in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s
In the 1930s, Sam's Trio, led by Jacob Sam (Kwame Asare), was the most influential of the high-life guitar-bands. Their "Yaa Amponsah", three versions of which were recorded in 1928 for
Dance high-life in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s
Dance highlife evolved during
1970s: Head revival
By the beginning of the 1970s, traditionally styled highlife had been overtaken by electric guitar bands and pop-dance music. Since 1966 and the fall of President
The Ghanaian-German community created a form of highlife called Burger-highlife. The most influential early burgher highlife musician was George Darko, whose "Akoo Te Brofo" coined the term and is considered the beginning of the genre. Burgher highlife was extremely popular in Ghana, especially after computer-generated dance beats were added to the mix. The same period saw a Ghanaian community appear in Toronto and elsewhere in Canada. Pat Thomas is probably the most famous Ghanaian-Canadian musician. Other emigres include Ghanaian-American Obo Addy, the Ghanaian-Swiss Andy Vans and the Ghanaian-Dutch Kumbi Salleh. In Ghana itself during the 1980s, reggae became extremely popular.
Hip-life
By the late 1990s, a new generation of artists created a new genre of music called
Hip hop
Ghanaian hip hop is a
Afro Beats
In the late 2000’s, a new generation of artists introduced the Afro beats genre into the Ghana music scene which is mostly referred to as Afro-pop. The likes of 4x4 and Fuse ODG among others popularized it and it has become part of the Ghanaian music Culture.
See also
- Gh hiphop
- Ghanaian hip hop
- Azonto
- List of record labels in Ghana
- Rhythm in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Sub-Saharan African music traditions
References
- ^ "Download Songs From Ghana". Mp3dealer.com.ng. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ "Music of the Ashanti of Ghana" (PDF). Media.smithsonianfolkways.org. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- ISBN 9780313320507. Retrieved 5 July 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Ghana and the World Music Boom" (PDF). Helda.helsinki.fi. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- ISBN 9781782385615. Retrieved 5 July 2017 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 9781137021656. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- ^ "Ghana's musical timeline". Timeout.com. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ "BBC NEWS – Africa – Timeline: Ghana's modern musical history". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ Micah Motenko (2011). "Highlife in the Ghanaian Music Scene: A Historical and Socio-Political Perspective". Digitalcollections.sit.edu. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- ^ Banda, Rajaa. "Meet Reggie Rockstone, Pioneer of Ghana's Hip-Life Movement".
External links
- BBC Radio 3 Audio (60 minutes): Koo Nimo and King Ayisoba. Accessed November 25, 2010.
- BBC Radio 3 Audio (60 minutes): Serena Owusua Dankwa and Batman Samini. Accessed November 25, 2010.