Diamond Platnumz's English skills under fire once again
ENTERTAINMENT
By
Fay Ngina
| Jul 30, 2024
Tanzanian singer Diamond Platnumz has sparked a fresh wave of discussion among Kenyans, who have criticised his use of English.
This follows the release of his new song, "Komasava Remix", featuring American star Jason Derulo and South African Amapiano artists Chley and Khalil.
The song, currently trending at number one in Kenya, has brought renewed attention to Diamond's language skills.
The controversy began during a video conversation with Jason Derulo and dancers Les Twins.
In the video, Jason shakes Diamond's hand and asks when he arrived in town. Diamond replies, "Second right? Second in the morning." When one of the Les Twins asked if he was a dancer, Diamond answered, "I can dance."
This interaction has led to mixed reactions online. Some Kenyans have criticised Diamond for his grammatical errors, pointing out that he should strive to speak better English as a global star.
However, others have defended him, arguing that English is not his first language. Supporters noted that expecting flawless English from Diamond is unreasonable and suggested that Jason Derulo would likely face similar challenges if speaking Swahili.
Diamond has faced similar criticisms in the past. In the first season of the reality TV show Young, Famous & African, he became the talk of town following his response to South African songwriter Nadia Nakai when she asked him about his age.
In one of the show's scenes, Nadia asked, "How old are you? Why do you have to think about it?" Diamond responded, saying, "No I'm not thinking about it, I was just untying my button... I'm 31st".
His response received a lot of backlash with some people claiming that the statement was intended to promote the show.
The singer also received criticism in 2017 for a promotional post about his perfume line, where he wrote, "I feel incomplete when I am on any outfit, without wearing @chibuperfume!..... @chibuperfume by Diamondplatnumz coming out this week!"
Fans were quick to point out the errors in his message, asking him to correct himself