KOO NIMO: PALMWINE MUSIC AND STORYTELLING

Agya Koo Nimo (born Kwabena Boa-Amponsem on 3 October 1934), is a leading folk musician of Palm wine music or Highlife music from Ghana.

He is a legendary Ghanaian singer who is popularly referred to as the “king of palm-wine music”. The "grandfather of highlife" as he is often called uses his music to tell life stories which has greatly influenced the Ghanaian and other West African music scenes.

Palm-wine music is a West African musical genre, who used the first guitars brought by sailors, combining local melodies and rhythms with calypso feel. Palm-wine music was named after a drink, palm wine, made from the naturally fermented sap of the oil palm, at gatherings where early African guitarists played.

Check out this exclusive video performance, recorded live in Kumasi in July 2016: