highlife

American  

[hahy-lahyf] / ˈhaɪˌlaɪf /

noun

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

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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

His grooves were sampled by hip-hop and R&B artists and helped introduce new global audiences to Ghanaian highlife.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

Tributes have been pouring in from across Ghana and the world since the death of Ghanaian highlife legend Ebo Taylor.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

During this time, Osei formed a band called Cat's Paw, which blended the vibrant rhythms of highlife - a popular West African genre - with the energetic styles of rock and soul.

From BBC • Jan. 16, 2025

Once he’d committed himself to music in his late teens, he threw himself into Idonije’s five-digit record collection, flipping highlife, afrobeat and jazz vinyls on the turntable for hours in his garage.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 16, 2023

My mum's from Ghana and I grew up on highlife music and Afrobeats.

From BBC • Sep. 22, 2022