Wiki highlife
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Gyedu-Blay Ambolley
Musical artist
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley is a Ghanaian highlife musician, songwriter, producer, and composer. The first musician from Ghana and the world to formally incorporate rap forms into local highlife rhythms, Ambolley created the musical genre Simigwa.[5]
Career
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley was rather unknown outside of West Africa until Soundway Records included his seminal Simigwa-Do,[6] which Ambolley released in 1973, on their first anthology, Ghana Soundz.[7] Ambolley's sound has led many to label him the godfather of hiplife, the fusion of hip hop and highlife[2] idioms. Ambolley stood aside AL Threats at the Playboy Jazz Festival in Los Angeles. His song "Simigua-do" is considered the first Ghanaian version of previously introduced American rap in the world released in 1973. Ambolley, Sammy Lartey and Ebo Taylor are the few musicians who envisioned a future for high-life music in the late 60s and early 70s and helped transform the genre fusing high-life, funk and jazz[8][9] music.
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Ghanaian highlife legend, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, has called on music industry players to preserve, develop and promote highlife as a genre that represents the national identity
At the launch of the ‘Highlife Is Alive Fan Club’ in Accra, on Monday, he bemoaned the missing identity of music in recent times and expressed the belief that the club would help uplift and sustain the highlife genre.
The club seeks to make highlife a national art form, promote it as an international art and work towards its recognition as a national cultural heritage.
“Every country has its own music, so why do we have to ignore highlife and chase other genres like reggae, and dancehall, among others. It is quite sad that our radios are supporting the promotion of other genres, which is a total deviation,” Mr Ambulley said.
“Highlife is the mother of every dance music in the world. We cannot sit down and let highlife die because the younger ones are now doing songs on borrowed rhythms.”
“The deviation from our original music is becoming very rapid due to the missing links between the older and younger m
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Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, often referred to as “James Brown of Ghana", is best known for his mix of high life, funk, jazz, and freestyle singing. Born in 1947, in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana, Ambolley's career began in the sixties, first as part of the Tricky Johnson Sextet and then the Uhuru Dance Band before releasing his 1973 single, “Simigwa-Do”, which is often considered the first-ever rap song to be released commercially. He founded the Apagya Show Band in 1974 with Ebo Taylor and Gyedu-Blay Ambolley and is wildly known in his native country for combining the highlife sound with North American soul and funk. Ambolley has played in a number of other bands including Houghas Extraordinaires, Meridians of Tema, and
Ghanaian highlife legend, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, has called on music industry players to preserve, develop and promote highlife as a genre that represents the national identity
At the launch of the ‘Highlife Is Alive Fan Club’ in Accra, on Monday, he bemoaned the missing identity of music in recent times and expressed the belief that the club would help uplift and sustain the highlife genre.
The club seeks to make highlife a national art form, promote it as an international art and work towards its recognition as a national cultural heritage.
“Every country has its own music, so why do we have to ignore highlife and chase other genres like reggae, and dancehall, among others. It is quite sad that our radios are supporting the promotion of other genres, which is a total deviation,” Mr Ambulley said.
“Highlife is the mother of every dance music in the world. We cannot sit down and let highlife die because the younger ones are now doing songs on borrowed rhythms.”
“The deviation from our original music is becoming very rapid due to the missing links between the older and younger m
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Listen to all of Gyedu-Blay Ambolley's tracks on Deezer
Latest release
New releases from Gyedu-Blay Ambolley on Deezer
Popular albums
Most popular albums from Gyedu-Blay Ambolley
Similar artists
Find artists similar to Gyedu-Blay Ambolley
Playlists
Playlists & music by Gyedu-Blay Ambolley
Featured in
Listen to Gyedu-Blay Ambolley on Deezer
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, often referred to as “James Brown of Ghana", is best known for his mix of high life, funk, jazz, and freestyle singing. Born in 1947, in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana, Ambolley's career began in the sixties, first as part of the Tricky Johnson Sextet and then the Uhuru Dance Band before releasing his 1973 single, “Simigwa-Do”, which is often considered the first-ever rap song to be released commercially. He founded the Apagya Show Band in 1974 with Ebo Taylor and Gyedu-Blay Ambolley and is wildly known in his native country for combining the highlife sound with North American soul and funk. Ambolley has played in a number of other bands including Houghas Extraordinaires, Meridians of Tema, and
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