A bevy of beauties. Clockwise from left: Zari Hassan, Hamisa Mobeto, Auntie Ezekiel, Tanasha Donna, Jokate Kidoti,
and Penny Mungilwa. PHOTOS| COURTESY
To successfully market any business, you require a strategy, so as to make some noise on the Internet, attract an audience, and build lasting customer relationships.
Marketing experts will tell you that there are several tactics you can use to promote any product or idea or service.
They include direct selling, earned media or PR, internet marketing, paid media advertising, word of mouth advertising, among others.
But how does a local musician ensure his presence is felt across borders?
Diamond Platnumz might have an answer to this.
Diamond is considered influential among his fans, and is said to be the most loved and decorated East and Central African artiste at the moment.
Since his debut in the music industry, the Tanzanian bongo flava recording artiste and dancer has been in our faces, no matter how hard we try to fight the urge to see him.
Bongo movie actress, Wema Sepetu. PHOTO| COURTESY
One could argue that he has really good music, but then for someone that sings mostly in Swahili to break out the way he did with big hits selling across the continent, here is another school of thought.
They say, behind every successful man, there is a strong and hard working woman. But let us frame it like this, “Behind a successful musician (Diamond), there is a socialite in a certain country”.
At the age of 28, Diamond Platnumz has sired three known children with two women, and had about eight known relationships with different women.
As we know it, it is one man, two women, and just a bunch of drama, while the man sits back and watches this battle for his attention. He could care less how this truly affects all parties, as long as when it is all done he still gets the benefits he desires.
In Diamond’s case, we cannot tell what his desires are, but one thing that is for sure is this thing has really worked for him.
Does he need music promoters, when he has all this media attention, stemming from the love triangle fights?
Let’s break it down a little.
Diamond Platnumz
Diamond’s breakout song “Kamwambie” in 2009 was inspired by heartbreak. The girl in question was Sarah who apparently dumped the heartthrob because he was poor.
Speaking about the song with Tubonge TZ in a 2014 interview, Diamond said: “I composed this song for Sarah, my ex-girlfriend who I deeply loved but she dumped me because I was broke back then. In the song, I tell her how much she hurt me by leaving me because I was broke but I still loved her. I remember vividly the day we broke up, she told me ‘Listen Diamond, right now I can’t continue being with a man who has no means to look after me’.”
The ‘Number one’ hit maker has since dated several women, mostly from his home country Tanzania.
When he was starting his music career, long before he became famous, Diamond dated Tanzanian bongo flava actress Upendo. They however broke up after five months.
He then dated Aunt Ezekiel, also a bongo movie actress, then Jokate Mwengelo, and Penny Mungilwa.
Well, in Uganda, we did not know most of these until our own socialite Zari Hassan came into the picture.
But before Zari, was former Miss Tanzania Wema Sepetu.
Bongo movie actress, Wema, will go down in history as one of the ladies who withstood the test of time as far as dating this crooner is concerned. It is said that Diamond cheated on Wema multiple times but still she remained loyal.
Diamond Platinumz and Zari
Going regional
Until Zari dated Diamond, he was not a topic of discussion in Uganda. We listened to and enjoyed his music, but no social media gave him all the attention he needed to blossom here in Uganda. And then Zari came into the picture. The two lived as man and wife in Tanzania, a relationship that resulted into two children, a boy and a girl.
In their first year of dating, he released a hit song ‘Utanipenda’, featuring Zari. The song asked questions like: would she love him if he were broke?
Considering Zari was a popular socialite in Uganda and South Africa, this relationship became a point of concern for many fans in the two countries.
And since we live in a world that prefers to expose celebrities’ lives, to showing ‘important things’ like economic, political and social problems, the tabloids and big media houses were talking about Zari and Diamond.
Hamisa Mobeto and Diamond
Any small thing they did became another story. Their tours, bedroom photos, pregnancy, Zari’s fights with Diamond’s other women – all that made news in the East African region.
In Uganda, the couple became another discussion in many WhatsApp and Facebook groups, earning Diamond the title Muko (brother-in-law).
And then the bomb, blast: their Valentine’s Day break-up. Zari woke up in a no lovey dovey mood and deleted all Diamond Platnumz photos from her social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
Much as he was no longer with Zari, Diamond remained a topic in Uganda this year, both on social and mainstream media. The music continued and his next relationship was not far away.
It should be noted that while dating Zari, Diamond Platnumz is said to have cheated on her with video vixen Hamisa Mobeto, and even sired a child with her. Although he denied the rumours several times, Zari could not take it any more.
Now in Kenya
Tanzanian musician Diamond Platnumz with his Kenyan girlfriend Tanasha Donna. COURTESY PHOTO
Less than a month ago, the singer announced that he was in a relationship with Kenyan model and media personality Tanasha Donna Oketch.
Though he was a topic in Kenya while he dated Zari and all the other women, there was no strong attachment with him, until now.
He finally announced that he would be making it legal with Tanasha, on Valentine’s Day in 2019. And as we wait for that moment, we are following every step of the way. Meanwhile Kenyans must be waiting for a new hit, dedicated to their queen. We do not wish him ill, but seeing the patterns that have been, let’s see how long this new relationship lasts.
