People think highlife artists are ‘villagers’ – Dada Hafco on Best Highlife Artiste nominee

According to Dada Hafco, most musicians making highlife music would not own up because people think highlife artists are villagers.

He said this phenomenon is not new because back in the days, people called highlife artists too local.

Sharing his opinion on the possibility of highlife dying with the exit of legends like Amakye Dede and Daddy Lumba, Dada Hafco disagreed with the claim.

According to him, highlife-infused songs have received massive airplay in the last decade. He said the big problem is that musicians who make highlife music do not identify with the genre.

“There are a lot of artists in Ghana that if the VGMA had not put them in the highlife categories, would never call themselves highlife artists.”

Terry Asare Boamah, aka Dada Hafco, explained the concealment to Cookie Tee on the TV3 NewDay show. He said this is a result of the musical identity at the start of the genre. Every genre came with a peculiar look, especially for their stage performances.

He cited Nana Ampadu, known for his signature accessories, and Obourba came with unique colour combos. So the ‘local’ appearance of highlife artists was fortunately shunned because Ghanaians are naturally inclined towards foreign elements.

He called for a national reorientation of the genre to boost visibility on the global music market. He said other countries have marketed their own genre so well and making money off it, so Ghana needs to do the same.

Dada Hafco has been nominated as the Best Highlife Artist with Akwaboah, Fameye, Kofi Kinaata, Kuami Eugene, and Sista Afia.