Highlife legend Gyedu-Blay Ambolley has heaped praise on contemporary artiste Kofi Kinaata for keeping the spirit of Ghana’s indigenous music alive through his creative fusion of storytelling, melody, and highlife rhythm.
Speaking exclusively to at the Afro Gastro Festival on Saturday, October 18, Ambolley expressed admiration for Kinaata’s commitment to preserving the authenticity of Ghanaian music in an era where many young musicians are shifting toward foreign genres.
“I love what Kofi Kinaata is doing because he’s following his seniors — playing the highlife, rapping into it, singing into it,” Ambolley said. “He understands the roots, and that’s what makes his music stand out.”
Ambolley, often regarded as one of the founding fathers of Ghana’s highlife and rap fusion, contrasted Kinaata’s dedication with the direction of many emerging artistes who, in his view, are abandoning their musical heritage for imported sounds.
“The rest are playing dancehall, they’re playing reggae. Dancehall came from our brothers and sisters in Jamaica. But here, at the roots, we have something here,” he emphasized.
The legendary musician urged the younger generation to reconnect with Ghana’s cultural identity and original sound instead of imitating foreign trends.
“If you leave your own and start copying somebody, then you become a copier,” Ambolley cautioned.
Over the years, Kofi Kinaata, known for hit songs like Things Fall Apart, Confession, and Susuka, has become a strong advocate of modern highlife. His lyrics, often rich with Fante proverbs and social commentary, have earned him widespread acclaim for blending wisdom, humour, and melody in a way that resonates across generations.
Kinaata’s ability to tell authentic Ghanaian stories through his music has made him one of the few artistes credited with keeping the highlife genre relevant among today’s youth.
Music critics and fans alike have praised him for creating a balance between traditional and contemporary influences — a quality that has won him several awards, including the Songwriter of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards multiple times.
