Forget Meru, Diamond Platinumz Has Always Been The Omnipotent Lord Of Stage Performances And It’s high Time Kenyan Artistes Took Serious Lessons From Him

Technical skill, originality, and style always come into question when considering the dopest artistes, but the increasingly important live show is sometimes left out of the discussion. A great live show, however, always helps pave the way to stardom, and with the fact that we Africans don’t really buy music, concerts are important for securing a loyal fan-base, an invaluable means of winning new fans, and a way to make money without having to release countless albums that sell fewer copies than the artiste’s IQ score. .

This past weekend, Diamond Platinumz had a concert in Meru where he gave a performance for the history books, It's safe to say that Mr. Chibu Dangote has superseded his bongo king status, and become one of the most successful African artistes artists of all time. He has achieved it all. He is at a point where he can afford to just relax and even perform for 45 minutes but he doesn’t do that. He still gives his best and goes on for hours.

But I am surprised that people took this long to realize how good Diamond is on stage. What he did in Meru isn’t something new. It’s simply what he does. No Kenyan artiste at the moment can safely say that they are a gifted performer. They all just try. Some are ever too eager to finish so that they can roll away with groupies or go home to sleep. No one really dies for the mic like Diamond does.

All the world’s musical legends were gods on stage. I am talking Elvis, Presley, the Beatles, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley and Tupac. I don’t understand why Kenyan artistes never realize this fact and improve on their delivery.

When it comes to good music, so much extends beyond the record itself. Musicians aren't simply selling their music to passionate fans. They’re satisfying and adding to an entire culture, each time they take the stage.

Lyrics projected into a microphone can inspire both a cult following and a devout group of enemies. Each word polarizes people into becoming lovers or haters, ensuring everyone at the show is either with or against them.

While other artistes are struggling to figure out why they aren’t conquering the African market, Diamond has it all wrapped up. He not only releases the hits, but he also makes sure everyone that buy a ticket to his show get value for their money.

Ever since he broke out, he has been a singer who can hardly contain his excitement on stage, spreading positive energy as infectious as the live music itself. His dedication reinforces the fact he is unlike anyone else at his level. The constant fluctuation between planned songs, the rhythmic freestyle and his odes to the audience ensure that every concert is a journey, not just an appearance

Diamond’s arenas are packed with people who know the words to every song.That is proof enough of greatness. If you ask 20 people who have been to the Tanzanian crooner’s concert what they thought of it, you're likely to get 20 different answers, ranging from "amazing" to "unbelievable" to "one of the livest shows they've seen this year So when you're at a Diamond show, it's mostly about him as a character, cooking the crowd up into a state of based hysteria and spreading his message of love and positivity. At times, it's a little difficult to decipher if you're at a concert or watching live performance art, but either way it's hard not to have a good time, especially when the lady next to you is screaming and dancing like she's possessed

While many Kenyan artistes huff and puff, the WCB head never seems to break a seat. At peak powers, he is a force of nature. His animated delivery and rapid fire flow turn music into a physical spectacle, the sort of feat you imagine requiring hours of not only practice, but physical training. His catalog–full of annual hits that detail his evolution and longevity–provides the perfect material for Diamond to flex his superhuman singing ability.

The Meru show did indeed prove to us that Diamond truly delvers. But there have been many other equally great shows. It’s only that this one had hype to it after the media tug of war between Citizen TV and KTN. It’s still good that people got to realize that we possible have a future legend amongst us.