How did highlife music develop in Ghana and Nigeria?

Highlife music originated in Ghana during the late 19th century, initially performed by coastal brass bands. By the early 20th century, these ensembles evolved by incorporating European instruments, vocal components, and stylistic influences from jazz, creating a unique synthesis of African, African American, and European aesthetics.1

In the 1930s, the genre spread inland and eastward to Nigeria, where it underwent a significant transformation. Nigerian musicians combined traditional Yoruba drum rhythms with syncopated guitar melodies, accompanying songs in Yoruba or English. During the 1950s, bandleaders such as E.T. Mensah further developed the genre by integrating rhythms from Trinidadian calypso.123

Highlife flourished in both nations throughout the 1950s. However, by the mid-1960s, it began to lose popularity to newer, guitar-centered styles, most notably juju, a percussive, Yoruba-based outgrowth that became dominant in Nigeria for the following 15 years.12