Watch: Dare Balogun shares the story of Nigerian Highlife

A joyous journey through the diverse sounds of Nigeria.

"The downfall of a man is not the end of his life. It's just a temporary setback."

In his latest Listening Room session at 180 Studios, DJ, writer and radio host Dare Balogun takes a record-by-record journey through Nigerian Highlife, the music he's long championed as a source of joy, positivity and community.

Recorded on Devon Turnbull's system, the session traces the genre's evolution from its origins in post-independence Ghana into the regionally distinct forms it took across Nigeria's 250-plus ethnic groups.

Starting with a Ghanaian guitar-led cut from Dr. Paa Bobo, Dare moves through the big-band sounds left behind after colonialism, into the hyperlocal grooves of the southeast.

From the foundational Igbo Highlife of Godwin Ezike and Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe to the uplifting perspectives of "Downfall of a Man", the psychedelic Yoruba Juju of King Sunny Adé, and beyond, Dare discusses the music that shaped Nigerian identity through independence, civil war and beyond, and continues to soundtrack its parties, weddings and social clubs today.

Watch the full video on YouTube now.