Renowned Kenyan artiste Bien-Aime Baraza has criticised the Tanzanian press for its focus on musician feuds, calling it a “narrow-minded” approach.
In a viral video on TNX Africa, the ‘Lifestyle’ hit maker responded to a journalist’s question about why his song ‘Katam’, featuring Tanzanian singer Diamond Platnumz, didn’t perform as expected. The track currently boasts 17 million YouTube views and is ranked number 46 on trending music videos.
Bien, who rose to fame with Sauti Sol, dismissed the criticism, saying, “Mimi sifanyangi hizo siasa. Hizo siasa mwende mfanye huko bongo. Mimi nafanya muziki for the fans.”
He urged reporters and listeners to focus on the music itself rather than comparing who is winning or losing, calling such comparisons a “poverty mentality.”
“Nafanya muziki from my heart. Nimeimba for many years na hii si time ya kuanza kucompare watu. Huo ni upungufu wa kiakili na mentality ya poverty. The sky is big enough for all of us to fly,” he added.
Bien's response to a Tanzanian journalist asking a silly question. pic.twitter.com/jD9vSLU7hI
— KENYA GOSSIP HUB (@kenyasgossips) March 30, 2026
The debate reignited after he released his new track with Tanzanian legend Alikiba. While the song ‘Finale’ has already amassed 4.8 million YouTube views in six days, fans have drawn comparisons to his previous collaboration with Diamond Platnumz.
Speaking to Tanzanian radio presenters, Bien said, “Tanzanian culture, you just don't know how to enjoy things without comparing and making people compete. That is a poverty mentality. Legends have met and done a track. Instead of people enjoying the song, you start comparing them. Who outperformed who? This is a poverty mentality. We should stop these things.”
Bien stressed that collaborations between such high-profile artists are rare and meaningful. “The track is fire. Alikiba is deadly. Diamond is deadly,” he said.
Rumors of a feud between Alikiba and Diamond Platnumz date back to 2021, when Diamond accused Alikiba of buying views for his song ‘Jealous’.
At the time, Alikiba also released his song ‘Iyo’, posting a cryptic Instagram message hinting at the alleged view buying.
Diamond responded with a humorous meme referencing Kenyan artiste Stivo Simple Boy, saying, “Inauma but itabidi uzoee.”
However, Diamond later clarified that these so-called feuds were not serious.
In 2023, he said, “I am proud of every musician. In fact, other musicians, we talk to each other but it's not serious, for me it's nothing serious. We are fighting each other, the game was very sleepy, we have to wake it up. Congratulations to everyone, everyone's songs are good, strong and we love them all.”