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

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 exchange of ideas between the two would later be seen as formative to the development of Afrobeat, a political cocktail blending highlife with funk, jazz and soul.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 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

She features in his recently released remix of Joromi, a classic tune by the late Nigerian highlife artist Sir Victor Uwaifo.

From BBC • Nov. 16, 2024

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