[ 2014-01-21 ]

Mark Okraku Mantey

Highlife to the rescue...Mark Okraku Mantey anticipates major challenges
On April 30th, 2010, a group of ace Highlife
musicians, led by music executive producer, Mark
Okraku Mantey, launched the first Hi-life
Festival, a 3-day packed event expected to come
off during the last quarter of 2010.

According to Mark Okraku Mantey, the festival will
seek to create a platform for young Hi life
musicians to showcase their talent and also
rejuvenate the ‘dying’ genre. The launch was
sponsored by the World Bank.

The Slip Entertainment boss, Mark Okraku Mantey,
who is the Head of the Planning Committee,
admitted to Hi Newspaper that, they expected to
face major challenges before this the laudable
Hi-life Festival project “sees the light of day,
especially with sponsorship considering that the
committee will seek to raise some GHC 500,000 to
execute a successful event”

Another problem outlined is the fact that hi-life
doesn't seem to appeal to the youth. "Most young
people think hi-life is music for the old, while
the average Ghanaian thinks hi-life is for the
rich since it actually got its name from the fact
that it used be patronized by people who were then
perceived to be leaving a "higher life" back in
the 50s.

“When I was growing up I did not listen to much
Hi-life but I’ve now seen the essence of the
genre and definitely knows the up and coming
generation will one day see this light", he said.

Another Hi-life great, Rex Omar said, lack of
executive instrument to support the industry
legally, was a reason for the increasingly
declining appeal of hi-life. "The ministry of
chieftaincy and culture which is supposed to cater
for us is only interested in dealing with
chieftaincy issues leaving us to fend for
ourselves”, he said.

“I therefore appeal to the government to create
a separate ministry to handle our vibrant and
growing entertainment industry which should be
headed not just by anybody but someone who is
well-vested in the entertainment industry like
Fritz Baffour who is already in parliament. If
they want to be partisan, they are so many people
in the arts who love partisan politics."

Hi-life music may have lost some charm but it
still has a great appeal today. Kwabena Kwabena's
"Donobi" and Wutah's "Kotosa" are examples. These
songs have been in the system for a long time yet
they are still tasty”.

And if you don’t believe this, ask Nollywood
stars Dakore Egbuson and Onuma Florence, who told
Hi Newspaper last weekend that they couldn’t
stop listening to Nana Borro's "Aha Yede", a song
with strong hi life influence.

Source - Ghanamusic

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