A Pass has sparked a fresh conversation about East African music after declaring that Diamond Platnumz is not on his level when it comes to technical artistry.
The Ugandan singer made the remarks while discussing the tendency among music fans to compare local musicians with artists from neighbouring countries, arguing that such comparisons often focus on financial success rather than musical ability.
According to A Pass, Ugandans sometimes overlook the strengths of their own musicians while measuring them against regional stars using commercial achievements as the main benchmark.
He believes the conversation should instead examine the actual craft behind the music, including songwriting, vocal delivery, creativity and the ability to experiment with different sounds.
“The challenge we’ve here is that we look at everything as competition and overlook our own artists. We compare them to others in terms of financial gains and not music. I hope you get that,” he said.
The singer also addressed comparisons between himself and Tanzanian superstar Diamond Platnumz, making it clear that he does not consider the two musicians directly comparable.
A Pass acknowledged that they are different artists but went further to make a bold assessment of their respective technical abilities.
“I’m not here comparing myself with Diamond Platnumz. I can’t because we are all different, but I will tell you on a technical level, we are very different artists,” he said.
He then delivered the statement likely to attract the most attention, declaring: “Diamond isn’t in my league. He’s juggling balls; I’m in the Champions League if we’re talking technical abilities.”
A Pass explained that his assessment was based on what he considers the technical elements of artistry, particularly songwriting, vocal versatility and blending different musical genres.
“Whether it’s songwriting, using different voices and blending genres. Doing all this stuff is totally different,” he added.
His comments place the spotlight on a wider debate about how East African musicians are evaluated, particularly when comparing Uganda’s music industry with Tanzania’s.
While commercial success, international recognition and financial achievements remain visible measures of a musician’s career, A Pass believes the creative process and technical skills behind the music deserve greater attention.
His remarks are likely to generate different reactions among fans of both artists, especially given Diamond Platnumz’s prominence across the African music scene.
For now, A Pass has made his position clear: he believes musical artistry should be judged by the work itself, not simply by the money an artist makes or the size of their commercial success.