Furaha Festivals Fallout: Can Diamond Platnumz Reconcile with Kenyan Fans?

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The fallout from the Furaha Festivals, which were recently performed in Nairobi, Kenya, negatively impacted Tanzanian hitmaker Diamond Platnumz.

It is unprecedented for YouTube followers to abandon their artists in such a stampede, which has left tongues wagging.

Unlike its name, Furaha Festivals have inflicted pain on most attendees, and this article focuses on repairing that broken relationship.

Grim Stats that Wasafi Must Address

Before we revisit Diamond Platnumz’s fall from grace, we must examine his performance on YouTube before he tumbled on his Furaha Festival’s Waterloo.

According to nairobi_gossip_club, Diamond Platnumz had an incredible 442 million YouTube views from January to December 2024. The distribution of those views is significant.

Kenya led the pack of the top six countries in the world in listening to Diamond Platnumz songs with 125 million views, Tanzania second with 44.4 million views, the US with 22.9 million views, Rwanda with 16.4 million views, France with 15.2 Million Views, and Zambia with 13.5 Million Views. Kenya also led the viewing list of Diamond Platnumz videos.

Nairobi had 86.6 million, Dar es Salaam had 36.7 million, Kigali had 15.6 million, Lusaka had 11.6 million, Mombasa had 9.36 million, and Kampala had 8.88 million.

With such a distribution, it is obvious Kenya is Diamond Platnumz’s most important market. 

For an artist who has breathtaking ambitions of conquering the whole world and becoming its richest person, surely, he cannot afford to lose the lucrative Kenyan market. 

But his acts of commission or omission during the Furaha Festivals were a checkmate to his musical career. 

It was a flight of followers, mostly Kenyans to the tune of 48.66%, that was never expected at all. 

YouTube followers more than those on Instagram or X or elsewhere carry much more weight because that is where an artist’s full library is located and archived. 

On YouTube, followers are symbols of prestige, influence and monetization of talent contribution on that site. 

A combination of views, downloads, and watching adverts determines how much content creators get paid. 

On average, YouTube pays between $0.003 and $0.005 per view. For 1 million views, you can expect to earn between $3,000 and $5,000. 

READ RELATED: Why Diamond Platinumz Missed the Grammy Spotlight Despite ‘Komasava’s’ Potential

However, it seems that not everything is cast in stone. As I have already said, YouTube pays creators not so much for watching videos but for watching channels on adverts.

Research has shown loyal followers feel the obligation to watch adverts to support the content creators they like and adore. It’s their way of thanking the creators for making their day better. 

Similarly, suppose viewers feel disconnected from the creator or annoyed by him. In that case, they may punish the creator by enjoying his works without watching the adverts to increase his earnings.

Viewers often use this power to punish a conduct they dislike. This is not new! Viewers have a history of punishing creators who offend them.

Except for Mr Bean, who is losing followers at an alarming rate, Diamond Platnumz may be claiming this underperformance of being the most unfollowed musician on YouTube in just one week. 

This shouldn’t have happened had Diamond Platnumz taken the first opportunity that came his way. Kenyans shouldn’t be confused with harbouring xenophobia because they don’t. 

From the beginning, they said Diamond Platnumz had disrespected their musician, Willy Paul and them. 

His bodyguards should have publicly apologised to Willy Paul and Kenyans. The Kenyan musical fan base was more interested in making amends than exacting revenge. 

They said Kenyan youth who support Diamond Platnumz fear nothing and cited the occupation of the Kenyan Parliamentary building during the Gen Z demos as a demonstration of their fearless machismo.

They said nobody comes to their country, treats them disrespectfully, and refuses to apologise. They had forewarned consequences would follow unless Diamond Platnumz retreated and said he was deeply sorry. 

Strangely, Diamond Platnumz opted to grandstand, and a public apology was not forthcoming. 

Then, the unfollowing on his YouTube account pursued Diamond Platnumz with unprecedented zeal. 

In less than a week, his social media clout was halved, which will hit him in the pocket where his recent dreams hibernate. 

Since his riches most likely will come from his musical career, he has reduced his earnings on YouTube by almost half with this one act of ingratitude and arrogance. 

Still, Diamond Platnumz can make amends with his estranged Kenyan fanbase. 

Diamond Platnumz must launch a charm offensive to reduce, stem, or reverse the fallout. He can begin by arranging an entente meeting with Willy Paul.

I am sure Willy Paul did not aim to hurt Diamond Platnumz’s professional career, and his childish tantrums were taken out of context. 

The two musicians need to bury the hatchet. It is in peace where achievement lies. 

Willy Paul has a vibrant fanbase in Tanzania. He would like to keep it. 

So far, Willy Paul’s Tanzanian fans have been more understanding, and his YouTube followership remains almost the same as it was before the Furaha Festival debacle.

Willy Paul has collaborated with many people in Tanzania; some collaborations have been massive. 

He has worked with Tanzanian songbird Nandy, and the duo has toured several cities in Tanzania. 

He has a financial motive for thawing the misunderstanding. Once Diamond Platnumz and Willy Paul are on the same page, they will bring the distraught Kenyan musical fans on the same page.

The duo must address what happened, and each side must show contrite and accept responsibility for their mess. 

No cover-up, or once detected, will harm their goodwill effort. A show on Citizen TV with Geoffrey Koinange may be where to start, and other TV and radio shows to follow. 

The duo may turn an altercation into a money-making ATM if handled well. 

Once the Kenyan fanbase is on their page, they can make an album inspired by the bad blood that fateful day at the Furaha Festivals.

Then, a tour based on that album that aims to inspire us to be humble and accept responsibility for our mistakes will thaw the broken relations and restore what was lost. It is a message that will resonate with many of us.

My problem with highly talented individuals is a tendency to condescend and miss their boats. Maybe, again this really big gamble, humility will trample hubris.

It is a tough calling but worth an inspiration. I just listened to Rayvanny’s gospel; he performed before 500,000 people in Dar es Salaam. Reverends led by Mwamposa blessed him, banishing the Furaha Festival debacle.

Rayvanny has moved on. It is time spinal doctors in Wasafi help Diamonds Platnumz to navigate the tricky waters. 

It is a fair deal!