Ghana Played Key Role In Building Modern Afrobeats -Bankulli

Nigerian music executive Bankulli has said Africa must do more to preserve the history of its music, arguing that Ghana played a significant role in the development of highlife, which later became one of the foundations of modern Afrobeats.

Speaking on the Big Convo segment on 3Music TV and Pluzz 89.9 FM, Bankulli said he had spent nearly nine years working on a documentary and book project titled Chronicles of Afrobeats to document the genre’s history before “someone from nowhere” rewrites the narrative.

He said Africans often fail to preserve their own stories, creating room for others to define their cultural history.

“For we Africans, it is important we learn our story, preserve our story and archive our story,” he said.

According to him, Afrobeats should not be viewed as exclusively Nigerian because its musical roots stretch across West Africa.

He argued that highlife, whose origins he said were in Ghana, became one of the major musical influences that shaped today’s Afrobeats.

“If you check the origin and the story of highlife, you can’t remove Ghana from it,” he said.

Bankulli explained that modern Afrobeats developed from several musical traditions, including highlife, Fuji music and hip-hop, while the original Afrobeat created by the late Nigerian musician Fela Kuti drew heavily from jazz, funk and highlife.

He said preserving that history had become the focus of Chronicles of Afrobeats, a project he described as costing “thousands and millions of dollars”.

“The amount of money I spent putting this together, I’m sure I cannot get that money back. I’m doing it because I can see into the future that we will get lost in the excitement,” he said.

Bankulli said he had personally interviewed more than 200 people for the documentary.

He added that Ghana occupies a significant place in the project because of its contribution to highlife music.

“There were some sensitive topics people were scared of talking about, including the origin and ownership of highlife music. It was all spelt out there,” he said.

He argued that documenting the evolution of African music was important for younger generations, saying many aspiring musicians only see the success of today’s stars without understanding the journeys behind them.

Bankulli said Afrobeats had become more than entertainment, describing it as a source of identity and confidence for Africans at home and abroad.