At age 9 Limbani Kalilani asserted he would be his own boss. At 14 he predicted two things; that he would own his own company and be a rap music sensation before he was 21.
Both came true; Phone Yanu (Pvt) Ltd, one of the most successful recent start-up companies and competitive wireless mobile public payphone company in Malawi is his brainchild and Tay-Grin the hip-hop artist is his alter-ego.
The first rap artist to make an impression on Tay was Jay-z. Impressed by the history and acuity of hip-hop in poetic diction, musicality, message and its influence on the world over the last 30 years, Tay knew he had found the appropriate medium for self-expression and influence.
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 his true and unique style that complemented the original American hip-hop template.
A chance meeting with Onree Gill, Alicia Keys manager, in 2005 on a Chicago-Atlanta flight confirmed that he had a hip-hop destiny.This was further emphasized in a brief meet with Craig a multi- platinum producer for the likes of Kanye West in Chicago at the Hinge Studios.
On return to Malawi, Tay poured his energy into his first ever track and scored a number-one hit with Break-Out! The track was an underground and club hit, gearing the public up in expectation of an album.
