The flag of Ghana has been lifted and held high by great musicians and artistes like Osibisa, Rocky Dawuni, Kojo Antwi and many others.
That list will not be complete without the name Atongo Zimba who made his presence felt in the Ghanaian music scene with the hit song �No Beer in Heaven� released in 2005 and he is by far one of Ghana�s biggest music exports.
After that hit song, little was heard of the �beer man� and when Myjoyonline.com caught up with him in a rare interview, he said he has been hiding in London doing his own thing in music.
�I have been hiding myself in London, that is where I live and I have been doing quite a lot of good stuffs for myself,� he said.
Asked why he will choose to do his music outside the shores of Ghana, he said relocation was influenced by the failure of "my own people to appreciate what I was doing."
�I choose outside because my own people cannot see what I have got and it is natural. If you even look at Jesus Christ, himself, they did not understand him where he came from, until he left. Where I come from they don�t understand me, they want me to be like them but I can�t be like them. I am a different person.�
�Ghanaians are too funny. When you are close to them, they don�t understand you. When you move away from them, they try to understand you,� he added.
With the success he has chalked up so far, he said he does not regret his decision to work outside and that it was worth it. He said it has taken him to high places and he enjoys working there, �people accept my music there that is why I am busy.�
He has six albums; �Allah Mungodey�, �Onimia�, �Womba�, 'Savannah breeze�, �Bare feet� and �Sakuni� to his credit and has a multi-national band, Atongo Zimba Band established six years ago with ten members, two being Ghanaians.
He has performed at countless concerts and shows across the world especially Afro-Pfingsten Festival, Amsterdam Uitmarkt, Hout Festival, Afro-Pfingsten Festival amongst others.
Atongo who hails from �Sakunde� in the Upper East region of Ghana says the music he does is called �Sakunde� music, �My music is �Sakunde� music. Just like we have Afro-beat, Jazz, Funk, my music is �Sakunde�. I have my own music.�
Atongo Zimba does not see himself moving to Ghana any time soon but says he has done a couple of tracks with local artistes. He has brought together some artistes from the north and artistes down south to form a band he plans to tour with this year.
Ironically, he is encouraging Ghanaians to stay home and that it is easy to make it here than out there. He said conditions are now right to achieve a lot here which he didn�t get when he started doing music.
�I believe that, anything you want to do, you can do it. They should talk to people who have already made it. They should talk to coaches. People like Osibisa, Nana Ampedu who can nurture the young talents to do something.�
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