Dr. Kwame Adinkrah makes Ghana proud with lecture at Durham University
Seasoned broadcaster and multiple award-winning journalist, Dr. Kwame Adinkrah, has made Ghana proud after delivering a lecture at the prestigious Durham University in the United Kingdom bringing Ghanaian highlife, Akan oral traditions and African cultural memory to an international academic audience and recognition.
Dr. Adinkrah, a 2012 Ghana Music Awards ‘Record of the Year’ winner and lecturer at the University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (USTED), had his presentation, titled “Music as Cultural Memory: Storytelling Traditions in Contemporary Akan Music”. He examined the role of Ghanaian highlife and African music in preserving history, cultural identity and the oral traditions passed down through generations.
Drawing from Ghanaian Music Greats like Nana Amapadu, Dr. Paa Bobo, Okomfoo Kwadee and his own musical works, including ‘Metowo Kropon’, ‘Feyiase’ and ‘ ‘Mmoatiahene’, Dr. Adinkrah demonstrated how contemporary music has preserved traditional knowledge while presenting historical and cultural narratives to modern audiences.
In discussing his ‘Metowo Kropon’ song to the audience, he explained how the tradition of naming can serve as an act of remembrance and a means of creating an enduring legacy. He similarly used ‘Feyiase’, inspired by the historic conflict between the Asantes and Denkyiras, to show how music can transform historical events into emotional storytelling.
His presentation also highlighted the role of traditional storytelling and folklore in the ‘Mmoatiahene’ song, which draws on Akan childhood experiences and beliefs surrounding the Akonkodee tree and dwarfs.
Dr. Adinkrah stressed that although African music has evolved with modern genres and digital platforms, its traditional storytelling function remains deeply rooted in African culture.
“The instruments may be modern, the platforms may be digital, and the audience may be global, but the storytelling impulse remains deeply African,” he said.
He further challenged the perception of the African musician as merely an entertainer, arguing that artists also play an important role in documenting history and shaping society.
“The artist becomes a historian. Sometimes the artist becomes a moral voice,” Dr. Adinkrah stated.
He said contemporary African music should therefore not be treated merely as entertainment or an imported cultural fashion, describing it as a repository of African philosophy and a means of documenting history.
Concluding his lecture, Dr. Adinkrah said: “Africans do not only live by sound and rhythm; we live by the meaning of sound and rhythm.”
The lecture at Durham University represents a significant moment for Ghanaian journalism, broadcasting and the broader creative arts, as Dr. Adinkrah used an international academic platform to showcase the depth of Ghana’s cultural heritage and the enduring power of African storytelling, elevating the status of the Ghanaian Journalist beyond the studio microphone.
Source: Purefmonlinegh.com || Evans Osei-Bonsu || 2026
