Tanzanian performer Diamond Platnumz yesterday launched his latest album: ‘A boy from Tandale’, at an exclusive event at the Kenya National Theatre in partnership with Songa by Safaricom.
Diamond, who has been dubbed the “King of East African Pop,” enjoys a large fan base in Kenya, also featured his surprise guest; Grammy Nominated R&B artist Omarion who thrilled fans when he got on stage to perform their new track ‘African Beauty’ where Omarion sings in Swahili!
In what could only be termed as one for the books, Diamond thrilled the guests with some of his favorites including one of his biggest songs thus far ‘Halleluyah’; featuring Morgan Heritage, snippets from some of the never before heard tracks in the album and a surprise joint performance by the WCB Artists who performed ‘Zilipendwa’
The album, which will be available on the SONGA platform from Friday this week, features guest appearances from fellow Tanzanian vocalist Vanessa Mdee, Grammy Award winning reggae band Morgan Heritage, American stars Rick Ross, Omarion and Ne-Yo and Nigerian songbird Tiwa Savage, among other African artists.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday before the launch, Diamond said that the 20-track album is a tribute to his humble beginnings in Tandale, which is a slum in Tanzania.
“It is where I was raised, with a lot of challenges, but also where I formed my closest bonds with family and friends who to this day remain my support system. It is the place where amidst all the poverty, I discovered my talent,” said Diamond.
Representing Africa
On why he wanted to launch his album in Kenya, he said that he wanted to do something different. He said that many had expected him to do the launch in his home country but he wanted to make the album feel like it was for everybody.
“‘A Boy From Tandale’ has very many stories and life lessons of the things we go through everyday. We go through many struggles, we overcome them, we love and fight, make up and break up and most of all, we’re united by our music at the end of the day. No matter where you come from or what you’ve gone through, music has always had a unique way of uniting people; which is what A Boy From Tandale intends to do.”
.@diamondplatnumz on why he's launching #ABoyFromTandale in Kenya and why he's working with @songamusic #SongaBySafaricom cc @WCBOFFICIAL_ @1Omarion pic.twitter.com/i4kv05fxhk
— Kenyan Collective 🇰 (@KenCollective) March 14, 2018
Working with Songa
“I wanted to take my music to the world and I was grateful enough to partner with UMG who have been a pillar of support so far and now the partnership with Songa by Safaricom will definitely take my music to the next level. Kenyans have also been great thus far in supporting my music and I love Kenya for that!”
For the past 17 years, since the inception of Safaricom, the company has worked with many local and international artists, and have contributed significantly to their growth by giving them access to fans through live events such as Niko Na Safaricom Live, Safaricom Jazz, and Groove Awards.
The Niko na Safaricom Live was a pioneering initiative that broke new ground in the entertainment industry, exposing local entertainers to new opportunities while giving their adoring fans the chance to interact with their favourite artistes.
In addition to that, through the SKIZA platform, Safaricom has helped local artistes sell their music to over 29.5 million subscribers.
This year as they launched Songa, the whole idea was to make music easily accessible to adoring music lovers by giving them not only the chance to listen and download but also stream when they wanted to. It however also provides the artists with an additional revenue stream and the chance to monitor how their money is moving by how frequently people download their songs.
There are plans to have a Wasafi Records @WCBOFFICIAL_ branch in Kenya soon #ABoyFromTandale #SongaBySafaricom ~ @diamondplatnumz pic.twitter.com/S0zJtzsbrO
— Kenyan Collective 🇰 (@KenCollective) March 14, 2018
Diamond is also set to set up a Wasafi Records Branch in Nairobi soon. The Wasafi Classic Baby (WCB) records label that was started three years ago has since employed over 50 recording artists thus far.
