5 Things East African artistes can learn from Diamond Platnumz

Tanzanian sensation Diamond Platnumz has taken the airwaves hostage. Even if you don’t like the guy, you’ll still find yourself grasping the lyrics to his songs by default. His music has enslaved us and as we all nod our heads in appreciation, Meanwhile, Kenyan artistes are wondering what they aren’t doing right. Well, sometimes it’s wise to borrow from the template of a genius so here are a few things our stars can learn from the Bongo king.

Gigs

You can tweet, hashtag, come up with all the fan pages that you like but you can’t beat good old fashioned gigging. Playing your music in front of real people is still by far the best way to grow your fan base. People don’t forget a great gig in a hurry, and if it is great they won’t shut up about it any time soon either.

It’s a competitive world out there hence there’s no time to relax. A successful artiste like Diamond can be excused for chilling for a week or two but he never does that. He’s always traversing regions and doing shows. Even on Christmas day, he had a show. Well, I know that getting shows in Kenya can be hard sometimes due to ‘difficult promoters’ but that’s where connections come in. A well connected artiste never misses shows

Kenyans don’t buy music. You just have to perform to get the money. Even in the international arena, the number of fans that buy music is decreasing with every passing day. All of the world’s music can be gotten for free. As a result, the only greater joy fans can derive from an artiste is seeing them perfrom live

Ignore the hate unless it’s constructive criticism

If your music is receiving airplay and you are getting money, never listen to the haters. Like Diamond, don’t listen to those who say they are better than you or those who say you are too soft or too boring. If someone says they are better than you yet you are getting more recognition than them, there’s no need to fret. Diamond never tried to prove he was better than Ali Kiba even after the ‘Run Dunia’ crooner claimed that Mr. Platnumz had nothing on him. All artistes are in it for the fame and money. Let’s not kid ourselves here. If those elements are coming through, don’t listen to the jealous nincompoops who only wish they were you because they’ll only shift your focus from where it’s supposed to be.

Fashion

Some artistes dress like campus freshmen, leaving fans wondering whether they are indeed serious with their careers. And these same artistes wonder why there are no screaming ladies at the front rows of their shows. Whether you are underground, bubbling under or a mega star, a good artiste has to be a fashion killer. The purists will tell you it doesn’t matter and ‘It’s all about the music, man’. Of course the music comes first, but the fashion follows in a close second. If you go through Diamond’s Instagram page, you will easily notice that he doesn’t have even a single fashion fail. From hair to attire, he pays attention to detail. I know some of y’all Kenyan artistes are hardcore and stuff but at least do it for the ladies out there.

Keep yourself in the news

This doesn’t mean that you should roam around engaging in desperate activities in order to get to Ghafla and other blogs. Diamond has mastered the art of staying in the headlines He makes sure everything he does is photographed. He wants us all to keep talking. He went ahead and acquired a socialite girlfriend, boosting his public image further and creating more conversation angles. The truth is, even if you are releasing good music but your life is boring A.F, no one will hold you in high regard

Make music for the masses not for the intellectuals

By listening to all of Diamond’s track we easily learn one thing. Hhe didn’t try to be too clever while coming up with them. ‘Nataka Kulewa’, ‘Kesho’ , ‘Ukimwona’ and ‘Number One’ are all tracks that the masses can relate to. The ordinary raiyaas are the one’s who’ll give you the relevance you badly want. And with the relevance, the opportunities will come. Intellectuals will only serve as critics for your work. They won’t say ‘huyo mchamaa ni mnoma pwana’. Hahaa. If your aim is to pass a message, then well and good,. You can focus on whomever you want but if you want to sell out, simplify your music.

Written by: Philip Etemesi of Ghafla (Kenya)