Tay Grin is the hip-hop alter ego of Limbani Kalilani who predicted at 14 that he would own his own company and be a rap music sensation before he was 21. Both came true, with Phone Yanu Ltd becoming one of the most successful start-up companies in Malawi.
Honing his rap skills since his teens, Tay has been influenced by legendary rappers like Jay-Z, KRS 1, B.I.G and Tupac.
To find his individual and distinctive rap voice however, Tay looked inwards at his African soul and found that the roots of his Chewa heritage and Malawian culture gave him a true and unique style to complement the original American hip-hop template.
A chance meeting with Alicia Keys’ manager on a flight in 2005 on a Chicago-Atlanta flight confirmed his hip-hop destiny.
On returning to Malawi, Tay scored a number 1 hit with Break-Out! The track was an underground and club hit, generating much hype and expectation for his debut album, ‘Split Screens’, released in 2007.
