Ghanaian rapper Ball J has lamented the commercial failure of Highlife music, a genre that is considered to be the national music of Ghana.
In an interview on Property FM, Ball J said that Ghana has a “real identity” in Highlife, but that the country has failed to make the genre commercially successful.
“We have our real identity as Highlife which is perfect, but making the Highlife commercial is what we’ve failed,” Ball J said.
He added that although Highlife is widely accepted as a Ghanaian genre, it has not yet achieved the level of international recognition that other genres, such as Afrobeats, have.
“Though Highlife has been accepted as a Ghanaian genre, the most difficult thing is how to make it enter the Grammys,” Ball J said.
He suggested that Ghana needs to either redefine Highlife or create a new genre of music in order to achieve international success.
“Before our Highlife goes to the Grammys, we have to redefine it and say this is Highlife from Ghana, or we have to bring a new genre,” Ball J emphasized.
