Tay Grin surprised the legendary Rick Ross back stage after his performance at the Secret Solstice Festival in Iceland.
The artist who is popularly known as Nyau King due to his fusion of traditional elements with hip hop from his Chewa heritage, Tay Grin shared the stage with Rick Ross real name William Leonard and Big Sean at the festival.
Grin posted a photo on his Facebook page where he handed over the African walking cane stick to Rick Ross.
He accompanied the photo with a caption that read ” The Nyau King and The Biggest Boss Rick Ross, I told Rozay that where am from Kings Carry a staff like the one his holding (meaning the walking stick),”
He added, “I got that particular one hand made special for him before I left Malawi. It is made out of rare African strong wood reserved for royalty. I felt it was only right to give him such a gift, great symbol of power and respect because he is the biggest boss,”
According to a website for African cultural black art depot objects, the African walking stick or walking canes were traditionally used as a weapon of defense from wild animals.
But in modern times, they have become a symbol of prestige and leaders of various African ethnic groups would use them when presiding over special occasions and important functions.
Most of the walking sticks are made from either Sese wood, Mvuli wood or African Black wood and they make great gifts and many admirers of African walking sticks maintain a collection of different designs that they showcase in their homes.
After the Tola hit maker posted the photo on Facebook, his page received an overwhelming response from his followers with about 4000 likes and 600 comments and the number is still rising.
One of his fans Thomas Mulera commented on the photo saying “Big up Nyau King, you have put our country on the map, stand on your own two feet and show that being from a poor country does not mean poor brains and poverty will never be a barrier.”
Tay Grin, real name Limbani Kalirani, recently won three awards at the 2017 inaugural Nyasa Music awards for best live act, best male artist and best hip-hop artist and Tay Grin was the only African artist to perform at the festival in Iceland. (By Fostina Mkandawire
Lilongwe, June 20, Mana)