Dazzling Dazlah's star still shining as he wins the Nzumari Male Artiste of the Year

A few hours past midnight, when Dazlah and his Chilemonde Dancers, were departing from IMAX, his colourful phone buzzed. He was receiving tens of congratulatory messages even as Liz, the Mombasa showbiz honcho, was trying to reach him from Dubai.
“Nzumari Male Artiste of the Year!” the voice on the other side excitedly said, before the call was terminated. The group of colourfully and swagged up performer hugged and high-fived, a call that capped up a great night.
Earlier, the PMVA nominee, who lost out to fellow newcomer Ndegz on the Breakthrough Video of the Year category, had been notified that he had won the Nzumari Song of the Year for Kide Kide.

We caught up with Dazlah as he hobnobbed with other artistes. He was making small talk before he left the building.
“Liz picked up the awards for me,” said Dazlah, explaining the events that were taking place nearly 500 kilometres away, at the stylish Flamingo Beach Resort.
Is Liz his manager as earlier claimed
“She is my...girlfriend,” he stumbles on the word. “She is not really my manager...just helps me around. We are currently experiencing some relationship hiccups. That is why I am a bit hesitant with what she really is to me.”
We leave it at that, deciding to concentrate on his eventful night.

“My nomination to the PMVA is a dream come true. It has been five years of hit after hit and getting recognition...even though I did not win, it is a statement of the journey,” the lanky 23-year old Suleiman Hassan tells me. “Nimetoka mbali sana bro.”
Dazlah, as most of his earlier music video shows, was a struggling artiste who was talented but lacked the resources to achieve the dreams.
“After my first video, Shemeji, I had to take a break to recover the resources I had pumped into the video,” the soft-spoke artiste who had dazzled the country on the live show said, with a smile that overwhelmed the unbelievable hardships.
Awards have always come his way. After the initial hiccups, Dazlah decided to pump his energies in memorable performances that have seen him bag the Coast Music Awards best performance gong for 2013 and 2014.
“Most music fans can sing all the song by heart, but when they turn up for live performances, you can’t dazzle them just by singing. Dance, perform, jump, call ladies on the stage. Make the fans remember the performance,” says Dazlah, who always performs with the agile young men that are Chilemonde, who feature on his videos.
A few fans and invited guests who attended the PMVAs give him high fives as they exit, he responds with a smile.
“See that brother Kide Kide did all that. It is my favourite song and the biggest hit I have done. I got a personal fashion designer and make-up artiste after Kide Kide. I have grown as an artiste and brand since the song came out,” says Dazlah, whose video for Cheza Kidogo, featuring Serah Sarah has also been highly acclaimed.
With a growing fanbase in Nairobi and the rest of the country, Dazlah is a household name at the Coast and in Tanzania, where he has performed several times.
“I have been lucky to have worked with Susumila, Kidis and Jay A. We have shot a video with Jay A that will drop soon,” says Dazlah, who has re-done Bangeleba with Susumila.
Not one to rest on the current buzz, Dazlah spent the weekend doing shows in Mariakani and Malindi, where he performed at a charity gig.