Tendai Ryan Nguni (born 17 January 1985), known professionally as Tehn Diamond or Tehn, is a

Zimbabwean Demographic features of the population of Zimbabwe include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Population The population of Zimbabwe ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

and a

singer-songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk- acoustic tradition with a guitar, although this role has ...

. He is a member of the

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

collective Few Kings, known for their collaborative album releases. Tehn Diamond also appeared in the Zimbabwean feature film Cook Off, which became the first Zimbabwean film to be released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Early life

Tehn Diamond was born in 1985 to

Sylvester Nguni Sylvester Robert Nguni (born 4 May 1955) was the Zimbabwean Minister of State in the office of Vice-President Joyce Mujuru. A member of ZANU–PF, he was the Member of House of Assembly for Mhondoro–Mubaira. He was placed on the United States ...

, a Zimbabwean

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He grew up in the gated community of Borrowdale Brooke in

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

, Zimbabwe, and attended St George's College. Initially pursuing a finance degree in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia, he eventually shifted his focus to a music career. In 2008, the

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

revoked the student

visas Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

of several children of senior members of former Zimbabwean President

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...

's administration, including Diamond, as part of broader sanctions. This led to his relocation to

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, before returning to Zimbabwe.

Musical career

Early years

Diamond released his first

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

, Student of the Game: Higher Learning, in 2008, 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.”

2012–present

In December 2014, Diamond embarked on a national tour in

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, culminating in a performance in

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

. The event was hosted by Vault Cosmetics. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with various Zimbabwean artists, including The Djembe Monks, and performed on the reality TV show Big Brother Africa. Diamond's song "Happy," featuring fellow artist Jnr Brown, was played on major Zimbabwean stations like Star FM and Power FM, and was nominated for Best Song of the Year at the

Zim Hip Hop Awards Zim Hip Hop Awards also known as Zimbabwe Hip Hop Awards (abbreviated as ZHHA) is an annual awards event created to recognise outstanding Zimbabwean hip hop artists in Zimbabwe as well as diaspora based hip hop artists. The awards are presented in ...

. On Valentine's Day 2015, he opened for South African rapper

Cassper Nyovest Refiloe Maele Phoolo (born 16 December 1990), professionally known as Cassper Nyovest, is a South African rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, record producer and amateur boxer. Born and raised in Mahikeng, North West (South African province), Nor ...

in Harare. On 1 January 2017, Tehn Diamond released his album, ''A Few Good Poems.'' 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.

Awards

National Arts Merit Awards

Tehn Diamond won a NAMA (National Arts Merit Awards) in 2012 for Best Video ("Happy" featuring Jnr Brown). , - , rowspan="2", 2010 , rowspan="2", ''Student of the Game: Higher Learning'' , Best Hip Hop Artist , , - , Best Hip Hop Album , , - , 2012 , ''Student of the Game: Boys Will Be Boys'' , Best Video ,

Discography

Compilation albums

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond, Tehn 1985 births Living people Zimbabwean rappers Zimbabwean record producers Alumni of St. George's College, Harare