Highlife is a Ghanaian music genre that originated along the coastal cities of present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its history as a colony of the British and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It encompasses multiple local fusions of African metre and western jazz melodies. It uses the melodic and main rhythmic structures of traditional African music, but is typically played with Western instruments. Highlife is characterized by jazzy horns and guitars which lead the band and its use of the two-finger plucking guitar style that is typical of African music. Recently it has acquired an uptempo, synth-driven sound.
32-615: Highlife gained popularity and the genre spread throughout West African regions. Pioneers like Cardinal Rex Lawson , E.T. Mensah , Victor Uwaifo , all perfected this sound by infusing traditional Africa drums and western "Native Blues". After the Second World War its popularity came back within the Igbo people of Nigeria , taking their own traditional guitar riffs and the influence of the diverse culture and flavor of Nigeria, mixed and perfected it to form Igbo highlife which became
64-645: A Name" - detailing Rex Lawson's life and times. Seprewa The seperewa , also known as seprewa or sanku , is a Ghanaian (specifically Akan ) harp-lute, similar to the Dagaare / Sisaala koriduo , the Mandé kora , the Gere duu , and Baoule aloko . The seperewa belongs to a class of harp-lute chordophones typical in West Africa , with Ghana marking the easternmost area where harp-lutes are played in
96-584: A bandboy for Lord Eddyson's Starlight Melody Orchestra. He later played with Sammy Obot, Bobby Benson , Victor Olaiya , Chris Ajilo , and other Ghanaian and Nigerian musicians and bands. His greatest success came as the leader of the Majors Band (also called the Rivers Men in later years); their recorded hits include "So ala teme", "Yellow Sisi", "Gowon Special", and "Jolly Papa". By 1965 Lawson had written more than 100 songs. In July 1970 he traveled to
128-712: A car accident at the Urhamigbe corner on the Asaba–Benin Road while on his way to Warri , Nigeria, for a performance. He was 32 years old. After his death, his band continued as the Professional Seagulls. Lawson was married to Chief (Mrs.) Regina Rex Lawson who died in October 2008. His music is loved to this day in Nigeria. His songs are regularly performed and danced at live band shows in Nigeria, and
160-462: A danceable style called adaha , as well as a style with cheaper, local instruments called konkoma. This fusion was similar to the birth of jazz in New Orleans. In the 1920s, Ghanaian musicians incorporated foreign influences like the foxtrot and calypso with Ghanaian rhythms like osibisaba ( Fante ). Highlife was associated with the local African aristocracy during the colonial period, and
192-416: A number of young musicians have remixed some of his old hits, and his relevance continues to be felt. His most popular songs were "Love Adure" and "Sawale". The single "Sawale" was a hit all over Africa and has been remixed in various Africa countries like Ethiopia. His single "Sawale" was remixed by Flavour N'abania to make the popular hit song, " Nwa Baby (Ashawo)". In honor of his musical achievements,
224-668: A short-lived jazz in Accra. Guy Warren was one notable musician who played with E.T. Mensah and the Tempos before moving to America and working with musicians such as Red Saunders to record the album Africa Speaks, America Answers , as well as playing with Duke Ellington in Chicago for a short time. Warren is credited with introducing highlife to the United States in an attempt to bring African-American musicians back in touch with
256-541: A young age, Lawson was afflicted with a severe case of small pox. While his mother brought him to various medicine men outside of Kalabari for treatment, his father feared he would die and lost interest in raising him. Lawson later sued his father for neglect while he was at school. He won the case, but his father cursed him in return, and the two did not communicate with one another until Lawson began his musical career. Rex Lawson began his career in Port Harcourt as
288-499: Is famed for his infectious gregariousness, his musical vision, talent, perseverance and individuality. He was able to sing in many different languages and dialects such as Kalabari , Nembe , Ijaw (Izon), Igbo , Urhobo , Ibibio , Efik and those of Cameroon and Ghana. In most Highlife bands, the trumpet often played a leading role in the music that they played. Lawson broke from this trend by frequently featuring alto saxophone solos in his songs. Lawson died on 16 January 1971 in
320-667: The 3-2 clave motif guajeo as shown below. The bell pattern known in Cuba as clave is indigenous to Ghana, and is used in highlife. The origins of Highlife stem from colonialism and trading in West Africa through regional styles of music. Palm-wine music , also known as maringa in Sierra Leone, was one style that originated on coastal locations when local musicians began using portable instruments brought by traders and fused it with local string and percussion instruments. It
352-434: The kora or kamalengoni . They are either played with the thumbs, or rarely with the forefingers or bow sanku , is attested to at least the 17th century, as the then newly established Ashanti Empire incorporated elements of its heavily Mande -influenced northern predecessor state Bonoman into its musical repertoire. Various harp-lutes similar to the sanku were once exclusively played in northern Ghana (which culturally
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#1732790830159384-399: The 1930s, highlife spread via Ghanaian workers to Sierra Leone , Liberia , Nigeria and Gambia among other West African countries, where the music quickly gained popularity. In the 1940s, the music diverged into two distinct streams: dance band highlife and guitar band highlife. Guitar band highlife featured smaller bands and, at least initially, was most common in rural areas. Because of
416-528: The 1960s in Africa when Cardinal and his band dominated Nigeria's highlife scene. Rex Lawson was born in 1938 in Buguma , Nigeria to a Kalabari chieftain father and an Igbo mother from Owerri . He was given the name Erekeosima which translates to "do not name this one" due to his father's belief that he would not live past infancy. He was the fourth child to his parents, the others having died of illnesses. At
448-641: The Rivers State Government named a street after Lawson in the neighborhood of Borokiri in Port Harcourt. On Saturday, June 2018 Rivers State Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike and Ooni of Ife Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi commissioned the Rex Lawson Cultural Center in Port Harcourt. In 2018, Beautiful Nubia , Nigeria's foremost contemporary folk and roots musician, released on YouTube, a documentary - "Unworthy of
480-609: The United Kingdom, where from then until September he recorded an album, Rex Lawson in London . A highly emotional and deep musician, Lawson was known to weep and shed tears while singing his own songs on stage, notably the haunting "So ala teme". The late Sir Maliki Showman, the Nigerian tenor saxophonist who played with Rex Lawson, Bobby Benson and Victor Uwaifo , remembers Lawson as always placing music over money. Lawson
512-594: The communities stems from the religious institution's ability to provide social and cultural infrastructure for the Ghanaian diaspora in Germany. E.T. Mensah and Kofi Ghanaba were important musicians in Ghana. From the late 1950s, famous jazz musicians began to visit Ghana, such as Ahmad Jamal and Louis Armstrong who played in Ghana (1956 and 1960). Armstrong's All Stars member Edmond Hall came to Ghana in 1959 to set up
544-420: The country's most popular music genre in the 1960s. Highlife has remained a part of popular music for Ghanaians and their diaspora globally through its integration with religious institutions and the positive effect it had on immigrating Ghanaians leaving their homeland. The following arpeggiated highlife guitar part is modeled after an Afro-Cuban guajeo . The pattern of attack-points is nearly identical to
576-551: The early 20th century, as the Akan kingdoms became incorporated into the Gold Coast colony, and Christianity was introduced by British missionaries, the seperewa found its way into churches, Christian weddings and conferences. Seperewa can be played in different positions. The player can play while sitting down with the instrument resting on his lap, with the neck of the instrument standing upright. He may also play while standing,
608-516: The founder of the Asante empire, was said to have loved the instrument so much that his successor Opoku Ware caused a replica of it to be made in his memory. The instrument was wrapped in gold leaf, and placed among the paraphernalia of the Golden Stool, which Osei Tutu established as "the soul" of the Asante nation with the help of his counsellor, the great priest Okomfo Anokye . The seperewa
640-472: The history of stringed instruments like the seprewa in the region, musicians were happy to incorporate the guitar. They also used the dagomba style, borrowed from Kru sailors from Liberia, to create highlife's two-finger picking style. Guitar band highlife also featured singing, drums and claves. E.K. Nyame and his Akan Trio helped to popularize guitar band highlife, and would release over 400 records during Nyame's lifetime. Dance band highlife, by contrast,
672-417: The late '90s, productions used solely electronic instruments. Considered one of the most popular music genres to both Ghanaians and its diaspora, gospel highlife has outlived burger highlife because of its success in blurring the lines between religion and pop culture. This genre is similar to burger highlife but its inspiration comes from Charismatic Christianity and Pentecostalism . Its significance within
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#1732790830159704-406: The music of Africa, as awareness of African influence on Afro-American music was lacking before the "African musical renaissance" of the late '50s. Source: Rex Lawson Rex Jim Lawson (4 March 1938 – 16 January 1971), known as Cardinal Rex , was a singer, trumpeter and bandleader from Buguma in present Rivers State , Nigeria . He became one of the best-known highlife musicians of
736-746: The nickname, the "King of Highlife". Also important from the 1950s onward was musician King Bruce , who served as band leader to the Black Beats. Some other early bands were, the Red Spots, the Rhythm Aces, the Ramblers and Broadway-Uhuru. Economic problems led to a mass migration of Ghanaians in the 1960s looking for more opportunities and after that political instability in the '70s and '80s would cause more people and many prominent highlife musicians to leave and create clusters of communities across
768-754: The orchestrated indigenous songs played at [exclusive] clubs by such early dance bands as the Jazz Kings, the Cape Coast Sugar Babies, the Sekondi Nanshamang and later the Accra Orchestra. The people outside called it the highlife as they did not reach the class of the couples going inside, who not only had to pay a relatively high entrance fee of about 7s 6d (seven shillings and sixpence), but also had to wear full evening dress, including top-hats if they could afford it." From
800-568: The records was stopped. A style of highlife that resembled western brass bands in European forts across West Africa. The military would use local musicians in their brass band regiments and taught them linear marching music . After these musicians saw how the West Indian regimental bandsmen practiced traditional music in their spare time it inspired them to do the same. The fusion of linear marching music with polyrhythmic local music created
832-416: The region. The seperewa is one of two types of harp-lutes played in Ghana, the other being the koriduo. Modern seperewa typically have anywhere between 10 and 14 strings, set onto a standing bridge, and are connected to the neck of the instrument by winding them around it directly. They are recognisable by their square wooden box resonator, which differ from the calabash resonators of Manding harp-lutes like
864-529: The west with Germany being a preferred destination because of its relaxed immigration laws . Ghanaians in Germany created a secular style of highlife that combined the genre with funk, disco, and synth-pop. It is believed it was called burger highlife because the largest communities of Ghanaians resided in Hamburg . The music became associated with migrants who would travel between Germany and Ghana. It also would become defined by its use of modern technologies; by
896-479: Was more rooted in urban settings. In the post-war period, larger dance orchestras began to be replaced by smaller professional dance bands, typified by the success of E.T. Mensah and the Tempos. As foreign troops departed, the primary audiences became increasingly Ghanaian, and the music changed to cater to their tastes. Mensah's fame soared after he played with Louis Armstrong in Accra in May 1956, and he eventually earned
928-630: Was much more heavily influenced by the Mali Empire and today is still inhabited by several Manden groups; the Ligbi , Bissa , Dyula and Wangara ) eventually gave way to kologo and molo calabash-lute types instead. The harp-lute tradition since then was preserved predominantly among Akan groups in what became southern Ghana, with the only exception being the koriduo 6 string harp of the Dagari and Sisaala groups of northwestern Ghana. King Osei Tutu ,
960-464: Was played by numerous bands including the Jazz Kings , Cape Coast Sugar Babies , and Accra Orchestra along the country's coast. The high class audience members who enjoyed the music in select clubs gave the music its name. The dance orchestra leader Yebuah Mensah ( E.T. Mensah 's older brother) told John Collins in 1973 that the term 'highlife' appeared in the early 1920s "as a catch-phrase for
992-434: Was used to entertain kings, similar to a griot tradition followed by northern Ghanaian tribes, and was also played at palm wine bars, and at funerals. The instrument was said to speak kasa and was used either used by itself or along with song. British colonization in the later 19th century saw the instrument decline in use as the guitar was introduced, and new chords and musical patterns from Europe entered Akan areas. By
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1024-427: Was usually played in a syncopated 4/4 metre . This music was played in low class palm-wine bars at ports where sailors, dock workers, and working class locals would drink and listen to the music. Eventually this genre worked its way inland and a more Africanized version came containing 12/8 polyrhythms , this would be known as the "Native Blues". This style would gain popularity up until World War II when production of
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