HIGH-LIFE COLLECTIVE Seeks To Build Community Around Ghanaian Music - Abrantie Simms

A new creative initiative, the High-Life Collective, is seeking to bring artists and professionals together to promote the growth and evolution of Ghanaian Highlife.

Producer Abrantie Simms and singer Ess Thee Legend described the initiative as a community built around collaboration rather than simply another record label.

Simms said the collective is intended to bring together people who believe in Highlife and want to contribute to its development.

“It’s not just artists but everybody who’s enthusiastic about Highlife wants it to move forward,” he said.

The idea is closely connected to Finding My Rhythm EP 1, Simms’ four-track collaborative project with Ess Thee Legend, which was released on 3 September 2026 under The High-Life Collective. 

The EP features a range of collaborators, including Rie Osei, Marince Omario and $pacely, alongside Ess and Simms. Its tracklist includes Adwuma Wura, Kanea, Way You Move and Testing Me

For Simms, the emphasis is on creating an environment where different creatives can work together.

He said he did not want the collective to be viewed simply as a conventional label but as a community where people from different parts of the creative industry can participate.

“Things can really happen in this industry if everybody works together,” he said.

The collective’s invitation therefore extends beyond musicians. During the interview, Simms and Ess encouraged creatives and professionals, including lawyers and corporate individuals, who are interested in the music industry to become part of the movement.

The initiative comes as Simms seeks to introduce a contemporary interpretation of Highlife through his own music and collaborations.

Born in Italy and now based in Ohio in the United States, Simms has said his connection to Ghanaian music comes from his family roots and his early exposure to Highlife.

He has cited artistes including Amakye Dede, Daddy Lumba and Ofori Amponsah as influences.

His partnership with Ess Thee Legend developed through producer Kuvie. Simms first heard Ess on Mpena, a collaboration between $pacely and Ess, before approaching her for further work.

That relationship eventually produced several songs and became the foundation for the first Finding My Rhythm project.

The collective’s approach also reflects a wider history of Ghanaian creatives working together outside traditional music-group structures.

In August, 3Music TV reported on Marince Omario’s account of an earlier collective he formed with friends including Black Sherif and Joker Nana, built around sharing resources and supporting one another’s individual careers.

The High-Life Collective is taking a similar collaborative approach, although Simms stressed that he sees it primarily as a community rather than a conventional label.

A listening event for Finding My Rhythm, hosted by The High-Life Collective, described the project as a blend of Ghanaian sounds and contemporary perspectives, with themes including love, success, enjoyment and perseverance.

For Ess, the collaborative nature of the project is also reflected in the way individual songs were created.

She said Adwuma Wura grew out of a conversation about the sacrifices their parents made for their families, while Kanea was written from a desire to celebrate the people who have remained supportive rather than focusing on heartbreak or negativity.

The collective’s ambitions could eventually extend beyond its current community structure. Simms said it could become a label in the future, although he wants the immediate focus to remain on building the community and supporting the wider Highlife movement.

With Finding My Rhythm EP 1 now released, the project serves as the first public expression of that vision.