Diamond Platnumz and his manager his trusted manager Jorge Mendez “Sallam SK” have fallen apart because of a business deal.
Netizens were quick to notice that Mendez was no longer accompanying Diamond to various functions like before – sparking speculations about their relationship.
For close to four months, Diamond and his manager haven’t been spotted together as has been the norm for more than a decade.
Mendez was conspicuously missing at a conference in Dar es Salaam hosted by music distributors and which Diamond attended with his entire Wasafi label unit, including his other two managers – Babu Tale and Said Fella alias Mkubwa Fella.
Mendez was also nowhere to be seen when Diamond and his entire WCB team flew to Qatar for a World Cup match, courtesy of Wasafi Bet, the firm he co-owns.
When Diamond expanded his Wasafi Media to Zanzibar and hosted a launch ceremony on the island last week, Mendez was also missing in action.
Ironically, the very week former Wasafi signee Harmonize had a show in Zanzibar and Mendez was in attendance.
After their meeting in Zanzibar, Harmonize announced that he would be unveiling his new manager on Christmas Day -several Tanzanian blogs have reported that Mendez will be taking over.
So what caused Diamond and Mendez to fall apart?
A highly placed source quoted by the Citizen said Mendez and Diamond fallout was occasioned by a dispute over a business deal.
“I heard that Diamond wasn’t happy with Sallam SK launching the radio station Mjini FM in Dar es Salaam. He saw this as direct competition to Wasafi FM. Diamond is livid because he feels the Wasafi audience will be split once it is established that Sallam owns Mjini FM and still manages him,” the source said.
According to the source, the rift began months ago.
“When Sallam informed Diamond of his new venture, Simba wasn’t happy but they still tried on a public show until they couldn’t do it anymore. Diamond wanted Sallam to stand down the project,” the source added.
According to the source, Diamond is worried of the competition having a good experience of what it is like to work with a strategist and a shrewd businessman like Mendez.
