Diamond D
- Record producer
- rapper
- Chemistry
- Mercury
- PolyGram
- Diamond Mine
- Babygrande
Joseph Kirkland (born April 5, 1968), better known by his stage name Diamond D (or simply Diamond), is an American hip hop MC and record producer from The Bronx, New York City,[1] and one of the founding members of the Diggin' in the Crates Crew, abbreviated as D.I.T.C.[2]
Early years
Growing up in Forest Houses in The Bronx, Diamond D was influenced by local DJs, DJ Hutch and DJ Supreme. During his youth the two DJs would let him perform on their turntables.[3] At the beginning of his career as a producer, Diamond spent many hours at Jazzy Jay's studio on Allerton Avenue in The Bronx. He credits Jay for inspiring him to buy a sampler and teaching him various production techniques.[3] In a 2017 interview he said, "I learned about 95% of my production skills from him. And he was ahead of his time."[4]
Career
In addition to Jazzy Jay's teachings, Diamond credited Brand Nubian member Grand Puba as his inspiration to start rapping.[5] An early guest appearance on A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory track "Show Business" helped make people more aware of him as an artist.[3]
The following year he released his debut record Stunts, Blunts and Hip Hop. In a 2017 interview Diamond described the album as, "just a collection of beats and records I was just setting aside. It was more about, 'One day I want to do something with this' ideas. And about 80% of that album I got from those records."
Diamond's favorite experience from making Stunts, Blunts, and Hip Hop was recording the vocals for the song "Check One, Two."[4] He credits producer The 45 King with clearing the samples for that beat.[4] It took him 30 minutes to construct the beat for one of the album's best-known tracks, "Sally Got A One Track Mind".
In 1996, Diamond won a Grammy Award for his production on the title track from The Fugees' The Score album. He later described the experience as "just a bad memory" and declined to talk about it in an interview.[6]
To promote his 1997 album Hatred, Passions and Infidelity, Mercury Records compiled a promotional vinyl called Diamond Jewels that included the Stunts, Blunts, and Hip Hop songs "Best Kept Secret', "*!*! What U Heard", and "Sally Got A One Track Mind".[7]
Discography
Albums
Album information |
---|
Stunts, Blunts and Hip Hop
|
Hatred, Passions and Infidelity
|
Grown Man Talk
|
The Diamond Mine
|
I'm Not Playin' (with Master Rob as Ultimate Force)
|
The Huge Hefner Chronicles
|
The Diam Piece
|
The Diam Piece 2
|
Gotham (with Talib Kweli)
|
The Rear View
|
As featured artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US | US R&B | US Rap | |||
"One for the Money" (Royce da 5'9" featuring Skillz and Diamond D) | 2012 | — | — | — | Non-album single |
References
- ^ a b Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 121/2. ISBN 0-7535-0427-8.
- ^ John Bush. "Diamond D | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
- ^ a b c Isenberg, Daniel (July 14, 2011). "Diamond D Tells All: The Stories Behind His Classic Records". Complex Networks. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c Ducker, Jesse (December 29, 2017). "INTERVIEW: The Enduring Duality & Dynamism of Hip-Hop Legend Diamond D". Albumism. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- ^ Garcia, Bobbito (June–July 1995). "Sound Check: Bobbito Garcia plays the tracks; Diamond D states the facts". Vibe: 35 – via Google Books.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Ettelson, Robbie (February 12, 2014). "Diamond D – The Unkut Interview". Unkut. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- ^ Nelson, Havelock (August 2, 1997). "Diamond D's Hip-Hop 'Hiatus' Ends with 'Hatred' on Mercury". Billboard. pp. 27 and 32 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Diamond D - The Rear View". Apple Music. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
- v
- t
- e
- Stunts, Blunts and Hip Hop (1992)
- Hatred, Passions and Infidelity (1997)
- Grown Man Talk (2003)
- I'm Not Playin' (2007)
- The Huge Hefner Chronicles (2008)
- The Diam Piece (2014)
- The Diamond Mine (2005)