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			[[File:MuGlobe-e12fcfd563524532.jpg\|thumb\|right\|320px\|alt=Atongo Zimba.\|Atongo Zimba.<br />Image: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Uprising_Man Uprising Man]. [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 CC BY-SA 4.0]. [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atongo_Zimba_is_a_Ghanaian_musician.jpg Source].]]

	== Summary ==		== Summary ==
	Atongo Zimba is a Ghanaian singer and kologo player whose work connects northern Ghanaian vocal and lute traditions with wider popular-music exchange. [[Kologo music]] remains a central reference even when his recordings use a larger band.<ref name="atongo-pam">[https://pan-african-music.com/en/atongo-zimba-a-to-z/ Lucas Keen: Getting from A to Z with Atongo Zimba, Pan African Music interview, 13 December 2021]. Accessed 23 October 2026.</ref>		Atongo Zimba is a Ghanaian singer and kologo player whose work connects northern Ghanaian vocal and lute traditions with wider popular-music exchange. [[Kologo music]] remains a central reference even when his recordings use a larger band.<ref name="atongo-pam">[https://pan-african-music.com/en/atongo-zimba-a-to-z/ Lucas Keen: Getting from A to Z with Atongo Zimba, Pan African Music interview, 13 December 2021]. Accessed 23 October 2026.</ref>

Edb: Artist encyclopedia batch006: sourced musician/group profiles and incoming artist links, requested by Ed

2026-10-23T19:40:35Z

Artist encyclopedia batch006: sourced musician/group profiles and incoming artist links, requested by Ed

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== Summary ==
Atongo Zimba is a Ghanaian singer and kologo player whose work connects northern Ghanaian vocal and lute traditions with wider popular-music exchange. [[Kologo music]] remains a central reference even when his recordings use a larger band.<ref name="atongo-pam">[https://pan-african-music.com/en/atongo-zimba-a-to-z/ Lucas Keen: Getting from A to Z with Atongo Zimba, Pan African Music interview, 13 December 2021]. Accessed 23 October 2026.</ref>

== Life and career ==
He learned from his grandfather as a child, then traveled through Accra and Lagos. Opening performances at [[Fela Kuti]]'s Shrine were one formative experience. Later work included European recording and international touring; ''Savannah Breeze'' appeared on Hippo Records in 2005 and ''Barefoot in the Sand'' followed in 2007.<ref name="atongo-mia">[https://musicinafrica.net/directory/atongo-zimba/ Music In Africa: Atongo Zimba, biography]. Accessed 23 October 2026.</ref>

== Music and style ==
His two-string lute uses a calabash resonator; amplification and new strumming techniques expand its possibilities. His work also draws on [[Highlife|highlife]], [[Jazz|jazz]] and [[Funk|funk]]. In the 2021 interview he connects musical learning with sharing knowledge across generations. Lyrics move among personal relationships, spirituality and public concerns, including the environmental theme of 'Clean Africa'.<ref name="atongo-pam" /><ref name="atongo-mia" />

== Works and performances ==
'No Beer in Heaven' became a widely recognized song. The album ''A to Z'' revisits it and includes collaborations with rappers, including M.anifest and Yaw Donkor. Those exchanges demonstrate a contemporary route for kologo performance alongside his solo playing and earlier band recordings.<ref name="atongo-pam" />

Selected recordings in MuGlobe:
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmPL-vL7cvU ATONGO ZIMBA | HEAVEN THERE IS NO BEER |] — [[Kologo music]].
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kQJtl-XZ7U Atongo Zimba - No beer in Heaven (LIVE)] — [[Kologo music]].
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQQ53FCtCSc ATONGO ZIMBA PERFORMS HEAVEN THERE IS NO BEER] — [[Kologo music]].

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Atongo Zimba - Revision history

Edb: Add a sourced, licensed illustration with creator credit and license link

Edb: Artist encyclopedia batch006: sourced musician/group profiles and incoming artist links, requested by Ed