Highlife is a type of music from Ghana that began in the coastal cities of what is now Ghana during the 19th century. It developed during the time Ghana was a British colony and through trade in coastal areas. Highlife combines elements of traditional African rhythms with Western jazz melodies. It uses the melodies and main rhythms from African music but is usually played with Western instruments. Highlife is known for its jazzy horns and guitars, which lead the music, and it often uses a two-finger guitar plucking style common in African music. In recent years, highlife has included faster, synth-driven sounds.

Highlife became popular and spread across West Africa. Musicians like Cardinal Rex Lawson, E.T. Mensah, and Victor Uwaifo helped shape the sound by blending traditional African drums with Western "Native Blues." After World War II, highlife became especially popular among the Igbo people of Nigeria, where it evolved into Igbo highlife. This style became Nigeria's most popular music genre in the 1960s.

Highlife has remained important in Ghana and among Ghanaians living abroad. It has been used in religious settings and helped connect Ghanaians who moved to other countries. In 2025, UNESCO recognized highlife as an intangible cultural heritage.

History

The guitar part in highlife music is inspired by a rhythmic pattern called a guajeo, which is common in Afro-Cuban music. This pattern has a similar rhythm to the 3-2 clave motif, which is a traditional rhythm used in Cuba. The clave rhythm, which is also used in highlife, originated in Ghana.

Highlife music began in West Africa during the time of colonialism and trade. It developed from local music styles that blended with influences from other regions.

Palm-wine music, also called maringa in Sierra Leone, started along the coasts of West Africa. Local musicians used portable instruments brought by traders and combined them with traditional string and percussion instruments. This music was played in simple bars near ports where workers and sailors gathered. Over time, palm-wine music moved inland and evolved into a version with more African rhythms, called "Native Blues." This style was popular until World War II, when record production stopped.

Another style of highlife was influenced by European brass bands used in forts across West Africa. Local musicians learned to play linear marching music from the military. After seeing West Indian soldiers practice traditional music, they began blending this style with local rhythms. This created two new styles: adaha, a danceable form, and konkoma, which used cheaper local instruments. This mix of rhythms was similar to how jazz developed in New Orleans.

In the 1920s, Ghanaian musicians combined foreign music styles like foxtrot and calypso with local rhythms such as osibisaba (from the Fante people). During colonial times, highlife was played by wealthy African families and performed by bands like the Jazz Kings, Cape Coast Sugar Babies, and Accra Orchestra. The name "highlife" came from exclusive clubs where people paid high fees and wore formal clothes to listen to the music.

Jacob Asare, also known as Kwame Asare or Jacob Sam, was the first Ghanaian musician to record highlife music. In 1928, he and his group, the Kumasi Trio, recorded "Yaa Amponsah" in London. These recordings are considered the earliest examples of highlife music with guitars. By the 1930s, highlife spread to other West African countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, and Gambia.

In the 1940s, highlife split into two styles: dance band highlife and guitar band highlife. Dance band highlife was played by larger groups in cities, while guitar band highlife used smaller groups and was common in rural areas. Musicians used the guitar because of its connection to stringed instruments like the seprewa. They also borrowed a two-finger picking style from Kru sailors. Guitar band highlife included singing, drums, and claves. E.K. Nyame and his Akan Trio helped popularize this style, releasing over 400 records. Dance band highlife became more popular in cities after World War II, with bands like E.T. Mensah and the Tempos leading the way. Mensah earned the nickname "King of Highlife" after performing with Louis Armstrong in 1956.

In the 1960s and 1970s, economic and political problems in Ghana caused many people, including highlife musicians, to move abroad. Germany became a common destination because of its open immigration laws. In Germany, Ghanaians created a new style called "burger highlife," which mixed highlife with funk, disco, and synth-pop. This style was named after the large Ghanaian community in Hamburg. By the late 1990s, this music used only electronic instruments.

Gospel highlife became popular among Ghanaians and their communities abroad. It combines highlife with religious themes from Charismatic Christianity and Pentecostalism. This style has lasted longer than burger highlife because it connects religion with pop culture. It also helps provide social and cultural support for Ghanaians living in Germany.

Jazz in Ghana

E.T. Mensah and Kofi Ghanaba were important musicians in Ghana. In the late 1950s, famous jazz musicians like Ahmad Jamal and Louis Armstrong visited Ghana. Armstrong performed in Ghana in 1960, and Edmond Hall, a member of Armstrong’s All Stars, came to Ghana in 1959 to help start a brief jazz scene in Accra.

Guy Warren was an important musician who played with E.T. Mensah and the Tempos before moving to America. In the United States, he worked with musicians like Red Saunders to record the album Africa Speaks, America Answers. He also briefly played with Duke Ellington in Chicago. Warren is credited with introducing highlife music to the United States. This effort aimed to connect African-American musicians with African music, as awareness of Africa’s influence on Afro-American music was limited before the "African musical renaissance" of the late 1950s.

• Pianist Randy Weston recorded an album called Highlife in 1963. It included songs written by West African musicians Bobby Benson ("Niger Mambo") and Guy Warren (Kofi Ghanaba) ("Mystery of Love").
• Saxophonist Pharoah Sanders recorded a song called "High Life" on the album Rejoice (1981).
• 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).