Celebrated Tanzanian musician Rayvanny has revealed how he nearly relocated to Kenya alongside his former boss, Diamond Platnumz after running into trouble with Tanzanian authorities.
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Diamond & I started the process of acquiring Kenyan citizenship - Rayvanny reveals
Intrigues that made Diamond & Rayvanny start the process of acquiring Kenyan citizenship
Rayvanny
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Speaking to Willy M Tuva, the Next Level Music President explained that they considered crossing over to Kenya after the release of their collaboration 'Mwanza' which was declared unfit for public consumption by the country’s music regulatory board, Baraza la Sanaa la Taifa (BASATA) which consequently banned them from doing music in Tanzania.
Rayvanny explained that having been banned in Tanzania, they actively considered acquiring Kenyan citizenship and relocating to the country to pursue their career in music and entertainment.
“We were really stressed after being banned from doing music after we performed our song Mwanza that had been banned.
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“So after being banned, Diamond gave me and idea of changing our Citizenship, so that we become Kenyans. So we came here and we started the process of acquiring Kenyan Citizenship but later our government lifted the ban and our plans stopped there,”Rayvanny explained.
Bongo Flava star Rayvanny
Pulse Live Kenya
A series of meetings with Tanzanian authorities and a public apology to BASATA for disrespecting the regulatory body saw the ban lifted with the duo shelving their plans of acquiring Kenyan citizenship and relocating to the country.
The duo issued a public apology on December 21, 2018 while in Kenya with their song still banned from playing on any radio or TV station in Tanzania.
“You know when you are in trouble; mostly you get a lot of ideas because of being confused and all that but at the end of the day the government listened to us and we were able to continue with our work up to today and they are very supportive,” Rayvanny explained.
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Defying BASATA and performing banned song at Wasafi Festival
In June this year, BASATA cracked down on the duo after they performed the outlawed “Mwanza” song during their Wasafi Festival tours held across different regions in Tanzania recently.
“The board has reached a decision to formally ban Diamond and Rayvanny from holding performances in and outside Tanzania due to their indiscipline and disrespect to BASATA. The Wasafi Festival organizers have shown that they would do everything possible to disrepute the board,” BASATA stated in an official statement posted on its social media pages.
“BASATA is a subset of the Government, and when one defies the State, the Government is left with no choice but to charge him with treason. The Prosecution would, thereafter, take up the case,” Mr Kayanda, the agency’s interim executive secretary told Tanzania’s Bongo 5.
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Diamond Platnumz performing at the Wasafi festival on August 12
Pulse Live Kenya
After reaching a deal with BASATA, Wasafi Festival proceeded with no hiccups.
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