Tanzanian star Naseeb Abdul, alias Diamond Platnumz has hit another milestone in his music career.
The WCB label founder becomes the first musician in Sub-Saharan Africa to hit 2 billion views on streaming platform, YouTube.
Diamond boasts over 7.16 million subscribers and 1000 videos and counting on his channel.
“Lion Diamond Platnumz has surpassed 2 billion view on YouTube. Diamond Platnumz still is the first Sub-Saharan African artist to reach this milestone,” WCB Label wrote on Instagram.
Apart from his music videos, the Bongo star also posts behind the scene clips of his music videos and his shows, both local and international.
Diamond comes ahead of Burna Boy who has 1.7 billion views, Wizkid (1.5 billion views), Fally Ipupa (1.2 billion views) and Davido (1.2 billion views).
In June 2020, the singer celebrated hitting 1 billion views on YouTube.
Diamond was celebrated by among others, his mother, who said the milestone was proof of his star power.
“Kwa kweli tunawashukuru sana mashabiki zetu. Nyinyi ndio mmefanikisha hili. Tunawaomba muendelee kutusupport
“Nyota wa muziki barani Afrika na duniani Simba Diamond Platnumz amezidi kudhirisha ukubwa wake baada ya kufikisha zaidi ya watazamaji bilioni 1 katika channel yake ya YouTube,” his mother said.
According to YouTube music trends manager Kevin Meenan, the singer amassed about 80% of his YouTube views from fans outside of Tanzania.
“For every music video he has – and they are very high-production music videos, by the way, he might have anywhere from five to 20 or more song and non-song content videos, that, for instance, could include documentary-style or behind-the-scenes footage,” Meenan explained.
He said the singer’s innovative spirit on the platform was impressive; a feat to be emulated by artists seeking to break ground globally.
“You’re seeing him lean in and hit those touchpoints where he is engaging his subscriber base, but also converting new subscribers, a number of artists from Africa who have broken globally are really leaning into that strategy – and that’s something we recommend all artists do,” he added.
