- Informal. An extravagant or luxurious style of living.
- Popular West African dance music that combines African rhythms and Western-style pop melodies.
highlife
Dictionary:
high·life or high life (hī'līf')  |
n.
| Music Encyclopedia: Highlife |
A dance style that appeared on the West African coast in the early 20th century; it has developed into one of the most popular modern dance styles in the area. The name comes from an association with ‘high living’. Musically, the style arose from the impact of Western military and popular music on African populations; the idiom is bold and spirited, with most music in quick duple metre, and sonorities mixing African, Caribbean and Western traditions.
| WordNet: high life |
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
excessive spending
Synonyms: extravagance, prodigality, lavishness, highlife
| Wikipedia: Highlife |
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (December 2006) |
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009) |
| Highlife | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | - Afro-pop African Music |
| Cultural origins | 1900s, Ghana |
| Typical instruments | guitar horns Vocal |
For other uses, see High life (disambiguation).
Highlife is a musical genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920. It is very popular in Liberia and all of English-speaking West Africa, although little has been produced in other countries due to economic challenges brought on by war and instability.
Highlife is characterized by jazzy horns and multiple guitars which lead the band. Recently it has acquired an uptempo, synth-driven sound (see Daddy Lumba). Joromi is a sub-genre.
Artists
Saka Acquaye and His African Ensemble are featured on Nonesuch Explorer Series album Ghana: High-Life & Other Popular Music (Voices of Africa: High-Life and Other Popular Music 1969/2002).
Other artists include:
- Koo Nimo (Daniel Amponsah)
- AB Crentsil
- Dr. Sir Warrior
- Dr. K. Gyasi and The Noble Kings
- S. E. Rogie
- Koola Lobitos
- The African Brothers Band
- George Darko
- Charles Amoah (singer)
- Solomon Ilori
- Rex Lawson
- Prince Nico Mbarga
- Jerry Hansen and The Ramblers
- E. T. Mensah
- Osibisa
- The Sweet Talks
- Eric Agyeman
- The Tempos
- Pat Thomas
- Aaron Bebe Sukura
- Daddy Lumba
- Bolga Zohdoomah
- King Bruce
- Nana Kwame Ampadu
- Rex Gyamfi
- Alhaji K. Frimpong
- Amakye Dede
- Paapa Yankson
- Celestine Ukwu
- 'Sir' Victor Uwaifo
- Oriental Brothers International
- Bobby Benson
- The Seagulls (Port Harcourt)
- Victor Olaiya
- Gyedu Blay Ambolley
- Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe
- University of Colorado Highlife Ensemble
Highlife in jazz
- Saxophonist Pharoah Sanders recorded a song called "High Life" on Rejoice (1981)
- Pierre Dørge and his New Jungle Orchestra played in the highlife style, e.g. on Even The Moon Is Dancing (1985)
- Guitarist Sonny Sharrock had a song called "Highlife" on the album of the same name (1990)
- Craig Harris (trombone) had a song called "High Life" on the album F-Stops (1993)
External links
- #1 Site for Ghana Music
- Watch Highlife Music Videos
- Ghana Music News Ghana Music News and a collection of video clips, audio and profiles on Ghana artists
- Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe
|
|||||
 |
This article about a music genre is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Learn More
 | Reminiscin' in Tempo (1991 Album by A.B. Crentsil) |
| Reminiscin' in Tempo (Album by Crentsil) |
| King Bruce (World Artist, '50s, '60s) |
Help us answer these
 | What do highlife dancers wear? |
| What does highlife and payapaya make? |
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
 |
 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Music Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Highlife". Read more |
ADVERTISEMENT
Mentioned in
- Reminiscin' in Tempo (1991 Album by A.B. Crentsil)
- Reminiscin' in Tempo (Album by Crentsil)
- King Bruce (World Artist, '50s, '60s)
- Cutlass Dance Band (World Band, '70s, '80s)
- Khodjo Aquai (World Artist)
- Monsore (1997 Album by Osibisa)
- Highlife High Ups (2001 Album by Various Artists)
- Kantata (World Band)
- Frank Bafy (World Artist, '80s, '90s)
- Alfred Schall (World Artist)
- Charles Johnson (Blues Artist, '90s, 2000s)
- Aki Special (1987 Album by Prince Nico Mbarga)
- Sam's Trio (World Band, '20s, '30s)
- Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe (World Artist, '60s-'90s)
