Diamond signs recording deal with UMG South Africa, releases video with Ne-Yo
03 Feb 2017 - 12:37
Diamond Platnumz becomes the first East African artist to sign to Universal Music Group, South Africa. The singer and performing artist has also recorded new music with International act Ne-Yo, and is currently promoting this. He uploaded the video for a whose audio format was released in November last year called ‘Marry You’.
Diamond admits to being a fan of Ne-Yo and was excited to meet and see him perform live at the 2015 MTV Africa Music Awards. That was actually where they met and talked about a collaboration, Diamond explains.
“When they announced he would be performing at the MTV Africa Music Awards, I was excited. After we met we discussed the possibility of doing a collaboration and he was ready to it. I chose Ne-Yo to record this song with because he fits my style of music. I am so happy because I grew up listening to Ne-Yo songs and most of my style is inspired by him so it’s a dream come true for a kid who grew up in a slum area in Tanzania,” he says.
On what further made the collaboration a dream come true, Platnumz believes it is the growing interest international artists are having in African music, adding that mutual respect for each other's music facilitated the collaboration.
The single is the first the artist is releasing under the Universal Music umbrella and the team is excited about his signing.
“He’s a star, he is talented and full of energy and creatively he’s at par with any international artist I’ve worked with.
“He’s focused and determined to succeed. He’s passionate about his country, his people, his language and his culture and I love that. He is a first class performer on stage, his new material is authentic, fresh and African, yet it will touch people across the globe. Artists like him are the reason we do what we do,” Sipho Dlamini, Universal Music’s Managing Director South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa says.
The song is available now on all major digital music platforms. Follow this link to listen to the audio.
This article was originally published on Pulse.ng
Here’s the video of the collabo:
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