Bessa Simons
Nikills World Multimedia, organiser of Highlife Music Awards, has launched the maiden edition of the awards at a high profile ceremony held at the plush Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra last Friday.
The ceremony, which was performed the President of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Bice Osei Kuffour (Obour), brought together a number of showbiz personalities, highlife musicians, music producers, as well as sponsors of the event.
The awards ceremony, slated for June 22 at the National Theatre in Accra, is being organised to celebrate and appreciate pioneers of highlife music and to reward individuals who promote highlife music in diverse ways in the country.
The awards scheme, which is aimed at raising the standard of the Ghanaian highlife music, will be held annually.
Official list of nominees for this year’s awards ceremony was unveiled at the ceremony soon.
Speaking at the launch, Vice President of MUSIGA, Bessa Simons, said the launch of the awards scheme is a demonstration of the commitment of the organisers to development highlife music sector.
According to him, it is important to appreciate the highlife musicians who preserve the cultural heritage of the country.
He added that the society is educated on good societal values and norms through highlife music which also promotes peace and unity among citizenry.
Bessa Simons stressed that the awards scheme would encourage highlife musicians to be professional in their music production, so as to reach international markets, adding that music of traditional origin stands a better chance of being exported to the international world.
He said the union is poised to work closely with the organisers and all relevant stakeholders to promote Ghanaian highlife music.
Some of the music personalities present at the launch were Zapp Mallet, Rex Omar, Gyedu Blay Ambolley, Daddy Bosco and a host of others.
By George Clifford Owusu