Some of the musicians and fashion designers
THE LAUNCH of the Ghana Highlife and Fashion Festival billed for London at the plush Nineteen 57 on Thursday, May 26, this year, promises to offer fashion designers and musicians an opportunity to take Ghana’s highlife and fashion a notch higher.
With the main event also scheduled for May 9, in London, the project is meant to support women in small scale businesses and improve their lives while eradicating poverty amongst them.
Highlife music has come a long way from entertaining Ghanaians to also serving as means of livelihood for many across the world.
Osibisa, a famous Ghanaian international highlife group that gained lots of recognition all over the world, paved the way for a lot of Africans who were also doing the genre to get to the world stage. “Highlife is the true identity of Africans, especially the eastern and western parts of Africa. Highlife is the only tool that speaks volume for Africans both in the diaspora and at home, because it represents the culture of a people,” Sampson Kwame Danso, manager of Kumi Guitar, said.
He said even though Ghana has different genres of music, highilife has always been at the forefront. It has seen many talented men and women including Nana Kwame Ampadu, Akwasi Ampofo Adjei (AAA), CK Mann, JA Adofo (Black Chinese), Ewurama Badu, Akosua Agyapong, AB Crentsil, Lee Dodoo to mention a few.
“Today, we have young men and women who have taken to this beautiful genre like Kwame Eugene, and Yaw Stone who also are performing at the launch of Ghana Highlife and Fashion Festival (GHAFF),” Sampson added.
President of the Fashion Designers Union of Ghana, Tete Bill Azumah, will be a keynote speaker at the event. Bessa Simons, president of MUSIGA, expressed love for the event, and urged all Ghanaians to be proud of Ghana’s music and fashion.
CEO of Afriscot Media, Afua Hagan, also a keynote speaker, called on corporate Ghana to support the initiative, adding the current economic hardship has cost most women in Ghana dearly.