Tehn Diamond

Tehn Diamond
Tehn Diamond performing at the Big Brother Africa finals in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Tendai Ryan Nguni
Born	(1985-01-17) 17 January 1985 (age 40)
Origin	Harare, Zimbabwe
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper Singer Songwriter Actor Record producer
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Independent
Spouse	Miss Chindiya

Tendai Ryan Nguni (born 17 January 1985), known professionally as Tehn Diamond or Tehn, ^[1] is a Zimbabwean rapper and a singer-songwriter. ^[2] He is a member of the hip-hop collective Few Kings, ^[3] known for their collaborative album releases. ^[4] Tehn Diamond also appeared in the Zimbabwean feature film Cook Off, which became the first Zimbabwean film to be released on Netflix. ^{[5] [6]}

Early life

Tehn Diamond was born in 1985 to Sylvester Nguni, a Zimbabwean politician. He grew up in the gated community of Borrowdale Brooke in Harare, Zimbabwe, and attended St George's College. Initially pursuing a finance degree in Brisbane, Australia, he eventually shifted his focus to a music career. ^[7]

In 2008, the Australian government revoked the student visas of several children of senior members of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's administration, including Diamond, as part of broader sanctions. ^[8] This led to his relocation to Singapore, before returning to Zimbabwe.

Musical career

Early years

Diamond released his first mixtape, Student of the Game: Higher Learning, in 2008, ^[9] followed by Student of the Game: Boys Will Be Boys in 2010. In 2012, he received the Best Video award at the National Arts Merit Awards for “Happy.” ^[10]

2012–present

In December 2014, Diamond embarked on a national tour in Zimbabwe, culminating in a performance in Bulawayo. The event was hosted by Vault Cosmetics. ^{[11] [12]} Throughout his career, he has collaborated with various Zimbabwean artists, including The Djembe Monks, and performed on the reality TV show Big Brother Africa. ^{[13] [14] [15]}

Diamond's song "Happy," featuring fellow artist Jnr Brown, was played on major Zimbabwean stations like Star FM and Power FM, ^[16] and was nominated for Best Song of the Year at the Zim Hip Hop Awards. ^[17] On Valentine's Day 2015, he opened for South African rapper Cassper Nyovest in Harare.^{[ citation needed ]}

On 1 January 2017, Tehn Diamond released his album, A Few Good Poems. ^{[18] [19]} Later that year, he collaborated with Jnr Brown and Take Fizzo to release the album -The Feeling Ain't Fair 2 (#TFAF2), the sequel to his earlier mixtape. ^[20]

Awards

National Arts Merit Awards

Tehn Diamond won a NAMA (National Arts Merit Awards) in 2012 for Best Video ("Happy" featuring Jnr Brown).

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2010	Student of the Game: Higher Learning	Best Hip Hop Artist	Won
		Best Hip Hop Album	Won
2012	Student of the Game: Boys Will Be Boys	Best Video	Won

^[21]

Discography

Compilation albums

List of albums, with selected details

Title	Album details
The Feeling Ain't Fair (with Few Kings)	Released: 23 October 2013 Label: KYN Records, Nothing Short of Amazing, Big Boy Business, Zion Format: CD, digital download

Singles

List of singles, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Album
"Happy" [22] (featuring Jnr Brown)	2013	The Feeling Ain't Fair
"Grown Up Kid" [23]	2012	Student of the Game: Pursuit of Amazing
"Simudza Gumbo" [24] (featuring Dadza D)	2014	The Perfect Tehn

References

1. "A three way with Tehn and Breezy".
2. "Director Of Purpose [#ATCTND] (@iamTEHN) - Twitter". twitter.com.
3. Godwin, Mungwadzi (27 March 2023). "Rappers Tehn Diamond, Jnr Brown and super producer Take 5 launches super group, announces album title and release date".
4. "Few Kings: The Feeling Ain't Fair Album Art and Track List". 25 October 2013.
5. "Zimbabwe: Faces Behind Zim's First Netflix Hit". allAfrica.com. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
6. Dzirutwe, MacDonald (1 June 2020). "Zimbabwean film industry makes Netflix debut with 'Cook Off'". Reuters. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
7. "Hip-hop artiste aims high". 31 January 2013.
8. "Zimbabwe leaders' children in Australia: who's here".
9. "Tehn Diamond - Student of The Game Vol 1: Higher Learning (2008)". SoundCloud. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
10. "Tehn Diamond releases third mixtape".
11. Chronicle, The (2 February 2015). "Vault Bulawayo launch draws bumper crowd". The Chronicle. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
12. "Live Show: Tehn Diamond sparkles on stage". Big Brother Africa Star Games. Archived from the original on 25 August 2013.
13. "ZIMBABWE'S TEHN DIAMOND TO ROCK BBA8 STAGE".
14. "Tehn Diamond, Junior Brown to perform at BBA".
15. "Tehn Diamond to grace BBA".
16. "FAB New Music: MC Tehn Diamond 'Happy' featuring Junior Brown".
17. "Local hip-hop gets a chance to shine".
18. "A Few Good Poems by Tehn" – via itunes.apple.com.
19. 3-mob.com (13 January 2017). "Tehn Diamond releases the real 'A Few Good Poems' album". Three Men On A Boat.
20. SpekkTrumn. "The Explosion That Is @FewKings' #TFAF2 cc @iamTEHN @jnrbrown263 @takefizzo #ZimHipHop".
21. "Tehn Diamond keeps hip-hop alive!". The Herald. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
22. "Tehn Diamond – Music – Happy [feat. Jnr Brown; – Single by Tehn Diamond, Jnr Brown]". fewkings.com. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
23. "Grown Up Kid – Official Music Video by Tehn Diamond". greedysouth.co.zw. 12 September 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
24. "Simudza Gumbo [feat. Dadza D]". greedysouth.co.zw. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.