Highlife must have Ghanaian identity - Joe Mensah

Accra (Greater Accra)- Mr Joe Mensah, a presiding member and past president of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), on Thursday said if hiplife music develops without a Ghanaian identity, it would not survive and would just become a passing phase.

Launching the Zulu Week at the Accra Polytechnic, Mr Mensah, who spoke under the theme "Music a tool for unity and development" said that in order for Ghanaian music to be able to compete on the global market, there is the need for it to maintain its indigenous form.

He said most of the rap forms of music have imitated African rhythm, therefore, imitation of foreign beats by Ghanaian musicians becomes a case of the "imitated copying the imitator." The chairman of the programme, Nii Okai Quarshie, a former president of the "Zulu", a students' club in Accra Polytechnic and a worker of Unilever, said the club was formed in 1992 to assist the Students Representative Council in fighting their cause.

The main aims of the club are to forge unity among students and promote Ghanaian culture and other cherished values through musical programmes.

Activities lined up for the Zulu-week include a football match, a float and a donation to the Weija Leprosarium. GRi../