Highlife is a music genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920. It is very popular in Liberia and all of English-speaking West Africa, although little has been produced in other countries due to economic challenges brought on by war and instability.

Highlife is characterized by jazzy horns and multiple guitars which lead the band. Recently it has acquired an uptempo, synth-driven sound (see Daddy Lumba). Joromi is a sub-genre.

Artists who perform the Highlife genre include:

Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English songwriter and musician whose genres include blue-eyed soul, R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz. A multi-instrumentalist, he plays the electric organ, synthesizers, bass, drums, guitar, mandolin, violin and other strings. A star performer for nearly 50 years, he has also done notable work as a producer.

In addition to his solo career, Winwood was a key member of The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith and Go. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic in 2004.

In 2005, Winwood was honoured as a BMI Icon at the annual BMI London Awards for his "enduring influence on generations of music makers." In 2008, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Winwood #33 in its 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Winwood has won numerous Grammy Awards in the United States.

Stephen Lawrence Winwood was born in Handsworth, Birmingham, England. His father, Lawrence, a foundryman by trade, was a semi-professional musician, playing mainly the saxophone and clarinet. Young Winwood became interested in swing and Dixieland jazz as a boy and began playing drums, guitar, and piano. He first performed with his father and older brother Muff in the Ron Atkinson Band at the age of eight. Winwood was a choirboy at St John's Church Perry Barr and later admitted to having "sneaked a few plays" of the organ there. While he was still young the family moved from Handsworth to the semi-rural suburb of Kingstanding at the northern edge of the city.

Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Cuban-American/Latino hip hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide. It is one of the most well-known groups in West Coast rap and was critically acclaimed for their first two groundbreaking albums.

Senen Reyes (also known as Sen Dog) and Ulpiano Sergio Reyes (also known as Mellow Man Ace) are brothers who initially lived in South Gate, California. In 1971, their family had immigrated to the United States, settling in the Los Angeles neighborhood of South Gate. In 1988, the two brothers teamed up with Lawrence Muggerud (also known as DJ Muggs) and Louis Freese (also known as B-Real) to form a hip-hop group named DVX (Devastating Vocal Excellence). The band soon lost Mellow Man Ace to a solo career, and changed their name to Cypress Hill, after a street in South Gate.

After recording a demo in 1989, Cypress Hill signed a record deal with the major label, Columbia Records. Their self-titled first album was released in August 1991. The lead single was the double A-side "The Phuncky Feel One"/"How I Could Just Kill a Man" which received heavy airplay on urban and college radio. The other two singles released from the album were "Hand on the Pump" and "Latin Lingo", the latter of which combined English and Spanish lyrics. The success of these singles led to the album selling two million copies in the US alone. The group made their first appearance at Lollapalooza on the side stage in 1992.

Shawn Watson is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Louisville Cardinals football team. He previously served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.

Shawn Watson was born in Carbondale, Illinois on September 21, 1959, and graduated from Carterville High School in Carterville, Illinois.

Watson began his football coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1982 at Southern Illinois; the same school where he had completed his playing career.

His first full time position was at Illinois, where he started as a graduate assistant for two years beginning in 1983 before promotions to offensive tackles coach, tight ends coach, and wide receivers coach by 1986. Illinois participated in two bowl games during Watson's time there, including the 1984 Rose Bowl.

Beginning in 1987, Watson coached in various positions at Miami University across seven years, starting as wide receivers coach, and moving through positions as tight ends coach, wide receivers coach and completing his career at Miami in 1993 as quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator.

Nelly Kim Furtado (born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Her second studio album, Folklore, was released. It was less commercially successful in the US but produced three international singles: "Powerless (Say What You Want)", "Try", and "Força" (the theme of the 2004 European Football Championship). Her third studio album, Loose was her biggest success worldwide. It produced the number-one hits "Promiscuous", "Maneater", "Say It Right" and "All Good Things (Come to an End)". After a three-year break, she released her first full-length Spanish album, Mi Plan. For Mi Plan, Furtado received the Latin Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Album. Furtado's fourth English-language studio album, The Spirit Indestructible, is set for release on September 18, 2012.