Long before African music reached global charts and streaming platforms, it travelled across the continent through dance halls, radio broadcasts, touring bands, and shared social spaces. Highlife was one of the forms that carried these movements. It emerged in Ghana, spread across West Africa, and was shaped collectively over time. That shared history has now received international recognition.

Ghanaian Highlife music and dance have been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The announcement was made on December 10, 2025, during UNESCO’s 20th Intergovernmental Committee session in New Delhi. The inscription marks an important moment not only for Ghana, but for African musical history.

Highlife originated over a century ago along the Fanti coast of southwest Ghana. It developed from the interaction between indigenous rhythms, local performance traditions, and Western musical forms introduced through colonial contact. Over time, it became part of everyday life, performed at social gatherings, public events, and political moments across the region.

As musicians moved across borders, Highlife also travelled. In Nigeria, it influenced the development of Juju music, Nigerian Highlife, and Igbo Highlife. In other parts of West Africa, its musical structures and performance styles were adopted and adapted, contributing to the formation of multiple popular music traditions. Highlife did not remain tied to one place. It became a shared reference point across the region.

UNESCO’s recognition presents Highlife as a living cultural practice, maintained through performance, dance, and transmission between generations. It acknowledges the role of communities in sustaining the music and adapting it to changing social contexts.

As African music continues to attract global attention, the inscription of Ghanaian Highlife encourages a broader reflection on continuity. Many contemporary sounds draw from earlier forms that shaped popular music on the continent. Highlife’s path from coastal Ghana to regional adoption and global recognition highlights its place within Africa’s ongoing cultural history.

Learn more about Ghanaian Highlife: https://www.africanmusiclibrary.org/genre/Highlife

Highlife began in Ghana but travelled across West Africa, influencing multiple musical traditions. UNESCO’s recognition places the genre within Africa’s shared cultural history.

Ghanaian Highlife Joins UNESCO Intangible Heritage List

Highlife began in Ghana but travelled across West Africa, influencing multiple musical traditions. UNESCO’s recognition places the genre within Africa’s shared cultural history.

Share to:

Related Blogs