By Geri-Leigh Diana
A pretty girl walks past you at the shops. She is wearing a T-shirt that boldly asks “Who is Tehn Diamond?”  Safely navigating your trolley clear of an imminent  collision with the frozen chickens, you wonder to yourself “Who is Tehn Diamond?” Well, rack your brain no more. If you didn’t see him as support MC  for DJ Smoove at HIFA this year, then it is possible that you saw him as one of the opening acts for Brick and Lace. Perhaps you saw him represented by the new entertainment company Nothing Short Of Amazing at Hellenic’s Sports Club. Or maybe you have been in the bush on safari, sleeping under the stars of the milky way, or worse, you are not in Zimbabwe this year. All of this has a remedy, and that is, get to Harare and look out for Tehn Diamond. He is home, and here to stay and  he is putting the words “Zimbabwe” and “Hip-Hop” on everyone’s lips.
It was during his not too distant student days in Australia, that he acquired his stage name Tehn Diamond. One night he decided to woo a young lady with Frank Sinatra songs. His friends were dazzled with his impromptu performance,  and from then on referred to him as “a diamond in the rough”. As you probably have guessed, his first name is Tendai which means to be grateful, so, a combination of the two names, he takes to mean “be grateful but shine.”
Tehn Diamond‘s musical calling resulted in him performing, writing and recording in the Australian scene. He soon had a big following which spread from there across Southeast Asia. Where in Singapore, he wowed patrons for 10 months, 5 nights a week, 4 times a night. With 800+ shows under his belt, after a year, he returned to Zimbabwe to replicate the success he had tasted abroad.
His last blog entry whilst in Australia read, “This will be the last year you get to ask me where Zimbabwe is, and why my English is so good. Come 2011, you are going to want to visit. Cos’ I’m not alone, there is more like me and our talent overflows.”
His first release was called “Student of the Game: Higher Learning.”  Deep musings on life, dreams, family, love and humanity. Some fans suffered vertigo at the abyss of his philosophical lyrical landscape so Tehn Diamond blew raspberries at them in the form of his next release “Student of the Game: Boys will be Boys”. 
He is skillfully dodging the critics sticky label gun.  Is he deep and thoughtful, or fickle, cheeky and feisty?  He is probably all of the above, but what next? If these two releases are anything to go by, the unassuming coal in the first release is polishing into a diamond with his second release.
The momentum that is gathering seems unstoppable. In his one track he sings “Just here to let you know, what I have started, you can’t stop it.“ Many of his tracks are musical revelations that he is “watching through the rear view mirror waiting for everyone to catch up“.  Looks like Jay-Z’s title is up for grabs. He is the best rapper ever right? Or is it Notorious BIG? Or maybe its Tupac. Wikipedia’s verdict is still out on that, but while people are busy scratching their heads, Tehn Diamond is in the ring, and he is after the biggest slice of the pie.
Out of the ashes of Zimbabwe rises the phoenix who advises that his “city needs no pity”. No band-aid needed for its bleeding heart “because its people are smart.” There is a picture people outside may have painted but “aint nobody dare frame it”. This guy is infectiously ambitious and brilliant. The track  “Breathe” featured during his show at Hellenic’s Sports Club, courtesy of entertainment company Nothing Short of Amazing. They certainly lived up to their name. Great food and a stunning stage was the background ,while beautiful girls called Nothing Short of Amazing Angels gracefully ensured no one was short of a beverage. An intimate yet enthusiastic crowd of 200 people roared their approval at the mention of H-Town. It seems Harare is on the up and up, especially when the proof in the pudding includes  spicy ingredients like Tehn Diamond.
“Student of the Game: Boys will be Boys” has a high standard of production.  Hip Hop ballads, a catchy dance tune and rap tracks that send heartfelt messages home. Each song will have you pressing the repeat button and shaking your hips at the traffic lights. It is full of attitude and questions, like who these other MCs are, and why the radio stations don’t want him “singing soul to their lady folk.” His cheekiness almost riles you up but then he envelops you in a blanket of love for his mama and his keen spot on observations of the creature that is called mankind. What’s not to love? A rapper with rapport, vocals you will adore, and words you can not ignore. Cleaner cut than Jay-Z, just as many lyrics flowing from within than Biggie Smalls and more alive than Tupac. Hip-Hop has a new zip code folks, and you are living in it.
Welcome to the SOTG (student of the game) experience . . .