Tehn Diamond targets $100k turnover

By Bongani Ndlovu

HIP HOP artiste Tehn Diamond says he wants to make $100,000 this year through shows, album sales and selling merchandise as he considers music as a business that should have set financial targets like any other.

Tehn Diamond (real name Tendai Nguni) who is penetrating the local market, said he wanted to spread his wings by staging shows in other countries.

“This year is all about doing music business and I’ve set a goal of generating $100,000 in revenue and penetrating the regional market.

“I’m focusing on four pillars of revenue which are performances, merchandising, publishing and advertising where I hope to get $25,000 from each,” he said.

The rapper launched a clothing line last year with merchandise including t-shirts with the Happy logo and flat base caps written Tisu Ngoda Dzacho – in line with his stage name, Tehn Diamond.

According to the Happy hit-maker, his third album The Perfect Tehn which was meant to be released last year had to be put on hold as he was focusing on coming up with a viable business model.

“Last year I didn’t do anything musically because I was planning for this year. I wanted it to be a year with change not for myself, but for the hip hop movement around the country,” he said.

Tehn Diamond who performed during one of the Big Brother Africa 2013 eviction shows, said there was no magic formula that guarantees stardom besides hard work. He also urged fellow artistes to identify viable business models instead of relying on show promoters for gigs.

He said he appreciated music by Bulawayo hip hop artistes including POY, Cal_Vin and Tear Dream Boys who he hoped to collaborate with.

“I like Tear Dream Boys track Bhekelaphansi and hope to do a remix of it with them. Cal_Vin and I have the same vision and we’re planning to walk together this year,” he said.

This will not be his first time to work with Bulawayo artistes as he has worked with Djembe Monks – an ancestral house music group.

He rose to fame in 2013 after the release of Happy which featured Junior Brown as the song was placed in rotation nationally by all major radio stations including Star FM and Power FM. The song was nominated for best song of the year at the Zim Hip hop Awards.

Source: The Chronicle