Some highlife songs belong to a moment. “Kyenkyen Bi Adi M’awu” belongs to generations. Decades after Alhaji K. Frimpong recorded it, Ghanaians still sing along, and record collectors abroad hunt for his original vinyl.
Ofoase
Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim Kwame Frimpong was born on 22 July 1939 in Ofoase, in the Ashanti Region of what was then the Gold Coast. He was known professionally as K. Frimpong, and later as Alhaji K. Frimpong.
The guitar band era
Frimpong came of age during the golden era of guitar-band highlife, when groups toured towns and villages playing highlife mixed with concert party theatre. The style was rooted in Akan melodies and proverbs, and it spoke directly to ordinary listeners.
Two bands
In the 1970s, he recorded with two different bands whose members overlapped. One was the Vis-a-Vis band, based in Kumasi and led by Isaac Yeboah. The other was the Cubano Fiestas.
The 1977 album
With the Cubano Fiestas, he recorded the album K. Frimpong and His Cubano Fiestas in 1977 for the Ofori Brothers label. The record, with its rolling guitars, organ and warm vocals, is regarded as a highlife masterpiece.
Kyenkyen Bi Adi M’awu
His best-known song is “Kyenkyen Bi Adi M’awu”. Its groove and melody made it a favourite at dances and parties, and it remains one of the most recognisable highlife songs of the 1970s.
Obi Agye Me Dofo
The album Obi Agye Me Dofo was released in Ghana on the Probisco label and was later reissued on the Makossa International label, carrying his music to listeners abroad.
Hard times
The late 1970s and 1980s were difficult for Ghanaian musicians. Economic crisis, curfews and the shortage of records and equipment hit the industry, and many musicians left the country or stopped recording.
Rediscovery
From the 2000s, reissue labels and DJs in Europe and America rediscovered 1970s Ghanaian highlife and Afro-funk. Frimpong’s records were among those that found new audiences through compilations and reissues.
His death
Alhaji K. Frimpong died on 18 October 2005. His songs continue to be played on Ghanaian radio, especially on programmes dedicated to classic highlife.
The sound of the seventies
For many older Ghanaians, Frimpong’s voice brings back a time of dance halls, record shops and gramophones. For younger listeners discovering him online, it is proof that highlife’s best records were made long before they were born.
