Ghanaian artiste Bisa Kdei has called for a deliberate and sustained effort to promote highlife music beyond Ghana’s borders.
He emphasised the need for proper branding, industry support, and youth involvement to revive the genre.
Bisa Kdei observed that though highlife remains a unique Ghanaian genre it is gradually being overshadowed despite its strong influence among other popular African genres.
“With highlife, I want people to know that we have something special here, not just in Ghana but beyond. We need to go outside our terrain, draw people closer, and sell it to them,” he said in an interview on Opemsuo Radio.
Bisa Kdei highlighted that many contemporary African genres, particularly Afrobeats, have roots in highlife but have gained global recognition through consistent promotion and branding.
According to him, there’s a need for Ghana to adopt similar strategies to reposition highlife on the international stage.
“As it stands now, Afrobeats is dominating, but highlife gave birth to it. If we are consistent and intentional about promoting our sound, we can also achieve that level of global recognition,” he stated.
Bisa Kdei, however, believes a collective effort from industry players, including artistes, award organisers, and stakeholders would be key to this cause.
