What best describes the music genre highlife?

• A. A Ghanaian musical genre that blends guitar with Akan traditions and praise singing.
• B. A West African drum ensemble style focusing on call-and-response drumming only.
• C. A UNESCO-recognized European folk tune tradition.
• D. A Brazilian martial arts rhythm.

Answer: (A)

Highlife is a Ghanaian music style that blends guitar-driven melodies with Akan traditional elements and praise singing, developed in urban Ghana in the early 20th century. This combination creates a danceable, melodic sound that sits at the crossroads of traditional African music and Western influence, with guitar as a central instrument and vocal praise patterns from Akan culture. The other descriptions don’t fit because they describe music that is either rhythmically focused only on drums, tied to European folk traditions, or unrelated Brazilian rhythms, none of which capture the distinct Ghanaian guitar-led blend and Akan vocal style that defines highlife.