Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, a legend of Ghanaian highlife music, and his Sekondi Band International will be performing at 13 concerts around the world.
The tour will visit Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, Morocco, and Sweden between May 12 and June 2, 2023.
The highlife songwriter, producer, and composer Gyedu-Blay Ambolley is the first musician from Ghana to formally incorporate rap forms into local highlife rhythms, creating the musical genre Simigwa.
Ambolley’s sound has led many to label him the godfather of Hiplife, the fusion of hip-hop and highlife idioms.
His song Simigua-do is considered the first Ghanaian version of previously introduced American rap in the world released in 1973.
Some of the local musicians who saw a future for high-life music in the late 1960s and early 1970s were Ambolley, Sammy Lartey, and Ebo Taylor. They helped change the genre by merging high-life, funk, and jazz music.
Adwoa, Akoko Ba, Let’s Be Happy, Highlife and Abrentsie among others are some of his songs.
In June 2015 Ambolley received a citation in the US from the City Council of Philadelphia, read by Councilwoman; Honorable Jannie Blackwell and Hon. Stanley, J. Staughter in recognition of the musician’s contributions to Ghanaian music in the USA.
Ambolley is a leading promoter of highlife (or hi-life) jazz, blended with styles from Africa, Europe, and America to become the distinctive sound.
Ambolley does not just promote African music; he also conveys an Africanist feeling of culture and identity and his aura is self-evident.