How Diamond’s missed collabo with P-Unit paved way for Rick Ross
Boneye, a former member of the renowned Kenyan music group P-Unit, has opened up about a missed collaboration opportunity with Tanzanian superstar Diamond Platnumz.
P-Unit, often hailed as the biggest music group in Kenya, has held a prime spot on the Kenyan music scene for some time.
Meanwhile, Diamond Platnumz, known for his chart-topping hits and international acclaim, apparently had his sights set on P-Unit for a collaborative venture around eight years ago.
This revelation comes in the wake of the group’s previous successful collaboration with Sauti Sol on their hit song, “Gentleman.”
Boneye shared the fascinating story during an interview with SPM Buzz, reminiscing about the opportunity that slipped through their fingers.
He recounted an encounter with Diamond Platnumz, where the Tanzanian superstar approached the P-Unit members with a collaboration proposal that could have altered the course of their careers.
“Tulinyima Diamond Collabo, kuna time Diamond alitungojea kwa lobby in Dar for four hours tukiwa kwa hotel, alikuwa anataka tufanye collabo na yeye na tukamnyima,” Boneye confessed. (“We turned down Diamond’s collaboration; there was a time when Diamond waited in the lobby of a Dar es Salaam hotel for four hours, hoping to collaborate with us, but we declined.”)
In his confession, Boneye revealed that Diamond Platnumz had expressed interest in featuring on P-Unit’s track titled “Nitampata Wapi,” which was released on November 20, 2014.
The song has since amassed over 45k views, showcasing its enduring popularity.
Boneye continued, “But actually, nakumbuka alikuwa ameandika hiyo ngoma already na akatuambia ningependa kufanya collabo na nyinyi and akaniimbia mpaka chorus ya hi ngoma. Na hiyo ndoma ni
Nitampata wapi kama Yule? Actually alisema anataka ikuwe P-Unit featuring Diamond but hapo hapo bado ndo nilimshika mko nikamuingiza kwa van ya MTV na hiyo ndo opportunity alipata tukaenda na yeye Lagos akatuimbia Chorus ya Kare.”
“He had already written the song and even sang the chorus to me. The song is ‘Nitampata Wapi.’ He said that he even wanted the song to be ‘P-Unit featuring Diamond.’ Later, I held his hand and led him to the MTV van, and that’s how he ended up singing the ‘Kare’ chorus for us in Lagos, Nigeria.”)
Remarkably, this missed collaboration opportunity didn’t hinder Diamond Platnumz’s rise to global stardom.
Boneye acknowledged that Diamond went on to seize another opportunity, meeting the management of American rapper Rick Ross, which ultimately led to a collaboration with the hip-hop mogul.
Diamond Platnumz later released a hit song, ‘Waka’ featuring Rick Ross in 2017.
P-Unit comprising of Frasha, Gabu, and Boneye have since separated with each doing solo projects.