5 facts to know about Diamond Platnumz
Many people across Africa love Diamond Platnumz, a 32 year old Tanzanian musician whose real name is Naseeb Abdul and since he started his career about 12 years ago, Diamond Platnumz has in all occasions blessed African music lovers with blockbuster music videos and mega hit songs such as "Nana", "Kidogo", "Jeje", "Waah" and the recent S2kizzy produced anthem "Gidi".
Diamond Platnumz broke into the Tanzanian music scene in 2010 with "Kamwambie" but it was not until 2014 that the Dar Es Salaam based artist stormed the African music scene after he tapped Nigeria's Davido On "Number One Remix" an anthem which made Diamond Platnumz a household name in potential African music markets such as Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana.
Busta Rhymes wasn't wrong when he named Diamond Platnumz as "African Michael Jackson" as everything he does such his spectacular stage performances, record breaking songs and even his love life is a Midas Touch.
Although there is still a lot know about the East African music Genius scroll down for five facts about Tanzanian Mega Superstar.
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1. He started as a rapper.
About 13 years ago before being a cultural sensation, Diamond Platnumz started his music career as a rapper with songs such as "I hate you" featuring Hemed PHD and "Jisachi" featuring Tanzania's hottest rapper at that time Mangwair.
In his recent interview, Diamond Platnumz has openly said that he decided to switch from rap to singing after realizing that rap was not his "thing"
"When i started making music i was doing rap. But i realized rap music is not taking me anywhere. So i decided switching to singing" said the WCB CEO.
2. Diamond Platnumz owns Radio and TV.
Being a mega music superstar has never made Diamond Platnumz feel comfortable and relaxed and and thats why in 2018 he launched his very own TV station named Wasafi TV and few months later added Wasafi FM to his media catalogue.
With programmes such as "Masham Sham", "The Switch" and "Mgahawa" Wasafi FM is one of the most popular radio stations in Tanzania covering politics, entertainment, current affairs and documentaries.
How Diamond Platnumz has managed to achieve 1.5 Billion views on YouTube |
3. East Africa's Most Awarded Artist.
From the beginning of his career in 2010 there is no a single year that Diamond Platnumz has not grabbed an award.
The East African King has about 68 award trophies in his arsenal making him the most awarded artist in East Africa and the 5th most awarded artist in Sub Saharan Africa after Wizkid, Sarkodie, Davido and 2face Idibia.
So far Diamond Platnumz has won various awards such as Afrimma, MTV MAMA, Soundcity Awards, Channel O Awards and one of the most remarkable moment on Diamond's career is when he bagged 7 awards in 2014 at the Kilimanjaro Tanzania Music Awards.
4. Education Level.
In 1995 the WCB CEO attended Chakula Bora Nursery School and one year later he joined Tandale Magharibi primary school from 1996 to 2002. He left school in 2006 after completing secondary education and from there he started doing odd jobs such as selling second hand clothes and working in a gas station while also doing music.
He used the money he got from his hustle to book sessions in different music studios in Dar es salaam and while still on the hustle he met Mzafiri Peter popularly known as Papa Misifa who acted as his manager, and after sometimes the two parted ways and he began working with Babu Tale who still manages his career to date.
Endorsement Deals
Diamond Platnumz is one of the most endorsed artists in East Africa working with big brands across the globe such as Cocacola, Bel Air, Pepsi, Pari Match, iTel, Dstv, Coral Paints and Vodacom.
Apart from these endorsements, Diamond Platnumz also makes a lot of money getting into partnership with music distribution companies such as Ziiiki who he partnered with last year for a deal worth 5 Million US Dollars.