Full Name: Kusimo Olawale Habeb
Origin: Egba, Abeokuta, Ogun State
Genres: Afro-Fusion, Alternative Pop
Label: Fierce Nation Entertainment (since 2019)
Influence: Adekunle Gold
Rejected by Kizz Daniel
Most artist origin stories include a moment of validation from an established star. Diamond Jimma's includes the opposite: a rejection from Kizz Daniel at a point when that validation could have changed everything. His breakthrough freestyle of Aje, originally by Jaywon, went viral and caught real industry attention — including an opportunity that put him in front of Kizz Daniel, who turned him down. Rather than treating it as a verdict, Jimma treated it as one closed door among many. PLondon Music signed him next, then in 2019, Fierce Nation Entertainment — a label whose roster also includes Laycon, winner of Big Brother Naija 2020.
The Song That Still Streams
His own version of Aje, recorded with Otega in 2019, became his signature breakthrough — a song about aspiration and divine guidance that crossed 2 million Spotify streams at the time and has since climbed past 3 million. Nearly seven years later, it remains his highest-streamed song — staying power that, in a genre defined by rapid turnover, says something about its craftsmanship.
A Catalogue Built on Persistence
Diamond In The Sky arrived in 2023. Freshout Jimma, Vol. 1 and the Decided EP followed in 2024, alongside a steady run of singles — Young Boy, Ashe, On God, Mercy, Smile, Akorede. He also released a Tribute to Mohbad EP in 2023, placing himself within the wider Nigerian music community's collective mourning for an artist whose loss affected a generation of street-pop and Afropop musicians.
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Diamond Jimma – Ayanfe (Akanbi EP)Akanbi: His Most Accomplished Work
His most recent project, the Akanbi EP, arrived September 18, 2025, including Ayanfe and Sare, both covered individually on this blog. Reviewing it for Substack, Emmanuel Daraloye wrote: "Diamond Jimma sings well, writes beautifully and has a velvety vocal that pierces the soul yet he is still not known." The EP opens with Surulere — patience, in Yoruba — instructive lyrics mixing empathy with gentle pleading over racing percussion. Alujona, meaning paradise, finds him in philosophical territory with just guitar and rolling drums. Old Days turns to reggae, joyous and nostalgic, delivered in English.
Akanbi continues the pattern of his 2024 EP Decided — both solo rides, built with regular collaborators like producers Mansa Jabulani and Jay Fred rather than high-profile guest features. A catalogue built around a specific, recognisable voice that survived a rejection from one of Nigeria's biggest stars and kept writing anyway, patiently enough that the word patience became the opening track of his most accomplished project yet.
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