Tehn Diamond

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Tehn Diamond
Tehn Diamond.jpg
Tehn Diamond performing at the Big Brother Africa finals 2013
Background information
Birth nameTendai Nguni
Born (1985-01-17) 17 January 1985 (age 38)
Origin Harare, Zimbabwe
Genres Hip hop
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
  • record producer
Years active2006–2017
LabelsIndependent (current)
Spouse(s) Miss Chindiya

Tendai Ryan Nguni (born January 17, 1985), [1] is a Zimbabwean rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor from Harare, Zimbabwe. Nguni goes by the stage name Tehn Diamond or Tehn. [2] He is a member of the hip-hop collective Few Kings, [3] with whom he has released one album. [4] On the First of January 2017, Tehn Diamond made his debut in the music industry with the release of his debut album titled 'a few good poems' [5] [6] and later that year they released the sequel to 'The Feeling Aint Fair' titled 'The Feeling Aint Fear' or just #TFAF2 [7] with Jnr Brown & Take Fizzo. He starts in the movie Cook Off, Zimbabwe's first feature film to be released via Netflix. [8] [9]

Contents

Early life

Tehn Diamond was born in 1985 to a Sylvester Nguni, a politician and his mother, who worked as a caregiver. He has two sisters and one brother. Raised in the gated community of Borrowdale Brooke section in Harare, Zimbabwe, Tehn Diamond attended the St George's College. However, he later decided to pursue a degree in Finance in Brisbane, Australia. Eventually, he chose to shift focus to a career in music and discontinued his studies. [10] In 2008, Federal Government of Australia announced the revocation of student visas for nine children of senior members of Former Zimababwe President Robert Mugabe's regime, and Tehn Diamond was among those affected. [11]

Musical career

Early years

After relocating to Singapore, Tehn Diamond began to delve into exploring music. [12] Whilst in Singapore, Tehn Diamond performed over 800 live performances. [13] Subsequently, he made a decision to return to Zimbabwe, where has since established a permanent residence.

Tehn Diamond career started with the release of the mix-tape titled "Student of the Game (SOTG1) — Higher Learning", in 2008 [14] which was followed by another mix-tape titled "Student of the Game (SOTG2) — Boys will be Boys" in 2010. These mix-tapes garnered a significant attention, amassing a considerable fan-base. Tehn Diamond's work earned him recognition at the National Arts Award in 2012, where he was honored with Best Video accolade. [15]

2012 - Present

In December 2014, he embarked on an extensive tour across Zimbabwe, enchanting audiences at numerous venues across the country. The tour culminated in a noteworthy show held in Bulawayo, which hosted by local beauty products brand Vault Cosmetics. [16] [17] Throughout his career, Tehn Diamond has collaborated with various fellow Zimbabwean artists including The Djembe Monks, tribal house music group from Bulawayo. Tehn Diamond also headlined Africa's biggest reality eviction show Big Brother. [18] [19] [20] His song titled "Happy" featuring Jnr Brown was placed in rotation nationally by all major radio stations that include Star FM and Power FM [21] and was nominated for best song of the year at the Zim Hip Hop Awards [22] On Valentine's Day 2015 he had the esteemed opportunity to open for a renowned artist Cassper Nyovest at 1+1 Long Cheng Plaza in Harare. His performance was met with tremendous acclaim, with both fans and the main artist himself Cassper Nyovest expressed admiration on Twitter. This further cemented Tehn Diamond's position as a highly regarded and celebrated music figure in the Africa music industry [23]

Awards

National Arts Merit Awards

The awards which are commonly referred to as the NAMAs are the principal awards in Zimbabwe and Tehn Diamond has won a NAMA more than once particularly in 2012 for Best Video(Happy ft Jnr Brown)

YearNominee / workAwardResult
2012"Student Of the Game(SOTG)-Boys Will Be Boys"
Best VideoWon
2010"Student Of The Game-Higher Learning"Best Hip Hop ArtistWon
Best Hip Hop AlbumWon

Discography

Compilation albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions
TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsCertifications
Hot 100|ZimTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums|Zim
R&B		Top Rap Albums|Zim
Rap
The Feeling Aint Fair
(with Few Kings)
  • Released: 23 October 2013
  • Label: KYN Records, Nothing Short of Amazing, Big Boy Business, Zion
  • Format: CD, digital download
–––
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As lead artist

List of songs, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
Power FM School of Hip Hop|Zim
Buddie Top 10|Zim
Hot Rap Songs|Zim
"Happy" [24]
(featuring Jnr Brown)		2013–——The Feeling Aint Fair
"Grown up Kid" [25]
2012–——"Student of the Game: Pursuit of Amazing"
"Simudza Gumbo" [26]
(featuring Dadza D)		2014–——"The Perfect Tehn"
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

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References

  1. ↑ "A three way with Tehn and Breezy".
  2. ↑ "Director Of Purpose [#ATCTND] (@iamTEHN) - Twitter". twitter.com.
  3. ↑ "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".
  5. ↑ "A Few Good Poems by Tehn" – via itunes.apple.com.
  6. ↑ 3-mob.com (13 January 2017). "Tehn Diamond releases the real 'A Few Good Poems' album". Three Men On A Boat.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ SpekkTrumn. "The Explosion That Is @FewKings' #TFAF2 cc @iamTEHN @jnrbrown263 @takefizzo #ZimHipHop".
  8. ↑ "Zimbabwe: Faces Behind Zim's First Netflix Hit". allAfrica.com. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  9. ↑ Dzirutwe, MacDonald (1 June 2020). "Zimbabwean film industry makes Netflix debut with 'Cook Off'". Reuters. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  10. ↑ "Hip-hop artiste aims high". 31 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "Zimbabwe leaders' children in Australia: who's here".
  12. ↑ "Politicians look East to study as West closes doors".
  13. ↑ "Zimbabwean Diamond in the making".
  14. ↑ "Tehn Diamond - Student of The Game Vol 1: Higher Learning (2008)". SoundCloud. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  15. ↑ "Tehn Diamond releases third mixtape".
  16. ↑ Chronicle, The (2 February 2015). "Vault Bulawayo launch draws bumper crowd". The Chronicle. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  17. ↑ "Live Show: Tehn Diamond sparkles on stage".
  18. ↑ "ZIMBABWE'S TEHN DIAMOND TO ROCK BBA8 STAGE".
  19. ↑ "Tehn Diamond, Junior Brown to perform at BBA".
  20. ↑ "Tehn Diamond to grace BBA".
  21. ↑ "FAB New Music: MC Tehn Diamond 'Happy' featuring Junior Brown".
  22. ↑ "Local hip-hop gets a chance to shine".
  23. ↑ twitter.com/CassperNyovest/status
  24. ↑ "Tehn Diamond – Music – Happy [feat. Jnr Brown; – Single by Tehn Diamond, Jnr Brown]". fewkings.com. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  25. ↑ "Grown Up Kid – Official Music Video by Tehn Diamond". greedysouth.co.zw. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  26. ↑ "Simudza Gumbo [feat. Dadza D]". greedysouth.co.zw. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
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