Ghanaian highlife legend Nana Tuffour dies

His death was confirmed by Hitz FM presenter Andy Dosty during his Daybreak Hitz show.

Popularly referred to as 9-9-2-4, the highlife musician was born James Kwaku Tuffour in Kumasi. He was introduced to music at an early age and began playing professionally after finishing high school.

He first played keyboards in a band run by well-known highlife keyboardist and guitarist Alex Konadu who passed away in 2011. He later joined the Watu Wazuri band as the lead pianist. The band was popular in Tema city in the Greater Accra Region between the late 1960s and 1970s. Its founder is guitarist Ebenezer Tamakloe popularly known as Tomi Darling.

Tuffour later joined the Waza Afriko-76 band. However, he was interested in pursuing a solo career. He left Ghana for Nigeria where he worked with keyboardist and percussionist King Sunny Ade before releasing Highlife Romance, his debut album in 1979.

With a career spanning over four decades, Tuffour recorded about 20 albums. His last project was the Sausage album, which was released in 2018. Some of his popular hits include 'Abeiku', 'Me Yere Dada', 'Owuo Sei Fie', 'Adeepena' and 'Manu Me Ho', among others. 

Commenting on Tuffour's death on Twitter, Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo wrote: "Saddened to hear about the death of legendary highlife musician Nana Tuffour. My condolences to his family and loved ones. May his soul rest in perfect peace."