Ateaa Tina steps into the spotlight

After years of being known mainly as legendary Highlife artiste Daddy Lumba’s backing vocalist, singer Ateaa Tina is now ready to step out of the shadows and claim her place in the spotlight.

The US-based musician worked with Daddy Lumba over a five-year period on five albums such as Mema Afa Wotrim Ne, Odo Bewu and Ahenfo Kyiniye and also collaborated with him on the Bubra album.

And years later, she is now taking flight as an artiste in the truest sense with the release of her single By Force. In a chat with Graphic Showbiz recently, Ateaa Tina, real name Ernestina Agyemang, said this was the right time for her to revive her music career.

“I took a break after I got married and had kids. Now my family is stable and my children can do things for themselves. My oldest child is 14 years so they’re okay. That’s why I decided to make a return to the industry at this time,” she explained.

On By Force, Ateaa Tina taps into rapper Okyeame Kwame’s skills to add something extra to the song and she told Graphic Showbiz that she featured him because he was a good artiste and had also been a good friend.

“Okyeame Kwame has been a brother for over 20 years and he has been very good to me. He is one of the peope who kept encouraging me to come back to music and not let my gift fade away so it was only right that I work with him.”

Produced by Kaywa, By Force, released on Wednesday, May 5, is an inspirational tune which encourages people not to give up. On the upbeat song, with a chorus that is sure to be catchy, Ateaa Tina talks about the challenges she has encountered and how she is determined to make it through grace or force.

She sings about not allowing her circumstances to get her down and she is ready to fight. When it comes to rhyming, nobody does it better than Okyeame Kwame and he brings his best to the song.

For a first outing after a long time away, By Force is a good launch pad and gives an indication of Ateaa Tina’s resolve to stay in the competitive music industry.

And perhaps receiving the seal of approval from the man she worked with and who she respects so much is all she needs to succeed. “Daddy Lumba has heard the song and has given me the thumbs up. It’s been a few days since I released the song and the response has been encouraging,” she said.

Ateaa Tina discovered her talent when she was very young and when she moved to the Netherlands at the age of 11, she started singing in church choirs. She was discovered by the choir director, Kwaku Mensah who also happened to be a music producer who helped her hone her talent with his encouragement.

“Every now and then people would engage me to perform at weddings, parties and other events and Kwaku Mensah would also call me to do back up for him when artistes came round.

It was through Kwaku Mensah that Ateaa Tina met Daddy Lumba who was in Germany then. Kwaku Mensah had gone to work for him and when Lumba said he didn’t have a vocalist, he hit her up. “I was in shock for weeks because he is such a legend.

“We had to drive from Holland to Germany for recording sessions and he was very welcoming, very humble and working with him was awesome. He’s the one who has brought me this far, he made things doable and easy for me,” she explained.

Managed by Lumina Entertainment, she hinted that she was planning collaborations with some GH artistes, adding that many of them had been welcoming and supportive.