Abrantie Amakye Dede, one of Ghana’s evergreen highlife musicians, can be described as the only Ghanaian musician who has dominated the highlife music scene continuously for over three decades. After taking a long break to study the trend of highlife music in Ghana, Abrantie has released his latest album, ‘Akonoba’, onto the music market.
‘Akonoba’, the title song, is a mid-tempo track and the lyrics are neatly arranged with inspirational rhythms and good drum beats, making the song a unique one.
The 10-track album is being played on all the local radio stations throughout the country. The album has the potential of becoming a big hit, considering how it has gained public appeal. Most of the songs on the album have mid-tempos with good traditional highlife beats. The instrumentation as well as the backing vocalists make the songs exceptional.
Abrantie Amakye Dede, whose lyrics are very educative, has groomed himself into a complete entertainer. It was amazing to see the huge crowd that greeted him at the venues where he exhibited his prowess as Ghana’s most acclaimed highlife musicians.
He earned another great compliment as one of the most thrilling highlife musicians in the sub-region when he performed to thousands of fans during last year’s Christmas and New Year festivities. Amakye Dede began his career in 1973 when he joined the Kumapim Royals as a composer and vocalist. This band was led by the legendary highlife singer Akwasi Ampofo Agyei (AAA) of blessed memory. With them, they had hits like ‘Abebi Bewua Eso’, ‘Wanware Me A’, ‘Odo Mani Agyina’ and the seminal ‘Ohohoo Batani’. He moved to Nigeria, where he had his hit 'Jealousy go shame'.
He then formed his own band, the Apollo High Kings, in 1980. He dominated the highlife scene in the 80's, 90's and continues to have hit songs in the 21st century. He has almost 20 albums to his credit. In his later career, he experimented with different genres; soca, Calypso, lovers rock and pop music.
He owns a very popular bar in Accra called Abrantee Spot, where he helps celebrate live-band music.
Some of his popular songs include ‘Handkerchief’, ‘Seniwa’, ‘Brebrebe yi’, ‘Mensuro’, ‘Mabre’, ‘Broken Promises’, among others. His current album, ‘Akonoba’ is being distributed by Sterbo Records.
