highlife

American  

[hahy-lahyf] / ˈhaɪˌlaɪf /

noun

1. an expensive, glamorous, or elegant style of living.

2. a genre of dance music originating in Ghana that fuses traditional West African rhythms with elements of jazz and other Western popular music.

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highlife British  

/ ˈhaɪˌlaɪf /

noun

1. 1. a style of music combining West African elements with US jazz forms, found esp in the cities of West Africa

   2. ( as modifier )

      a highlife band

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Etymology

Origin of highlife

First recorded in 1755–65; high + life

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

highlife

Nigerian writer and poet Dami Ajayi described him as a "highlife maestro" and a "fantastic guitarist".

From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026

Born Deroy Taylor in Cape Coast in 1936, he began performing in the 1950s, as highlife was establishing itself as the dominant sound in Ghana in the years following independence.

From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026

The DNA of highlife can be heard in Afrobeat's melodic sensibility and its balance between groove and sophistication.

From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2026

Together, they ripped the genre rulebook to shreds, magpie-ing elements of Afrobeat, hip-hop, grime, reggae, Latin, R&B, highlife and jazz to create a sound that bulges with possibility.

From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2025

Aimed to highlight “regional melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical traditions,” genres including Afrobeats, amapiano, highlife, alte, fuji and kwassa will be eligible for nomination.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2023