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Diamond D
Diamond D at A3C in Atlanta
Background information
Birth name	Joseph Kirkland
Also known as	Diamond D
Born	(1968-04-05) April 5, 1968 (age 56) The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Record producer rapper
Years active	1987–present
Labels	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, and one of the founding members of the Diggin' in the Crates Crew, abbreviated as D.I.T.C.

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. 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. In a 2017 interview he said, "I learned about 95% of my production skills from him. And he was ahead of his time."

Career

In addition to Jazzy Jay's teachings, Diamond credited Brand Nubian member Grand Puba as his inspiration to start rapping. 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.

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." He credits producer The 45 King with clearing the samples for that beat. 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.

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".

Discography

Albums

As featured artist

As featured

References

1. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 121/2. ISBN 0-7535-0427-8.
2. John Bush. "Diamond D | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
3. ^ Isenberg, Daniel (July 14, 2011). "Diamond D Tells All: The Stories Behind His Classic Records". Complex Networks. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
4. ^ Ducker, Jesse (December 29, 2017). "INTERVIEW: The Enduring Duality & Dynamism of Hip-Hop Legend Diamond D". Albumism. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
5. Garcia, Bobbito (June–July 1995). "Sound Check: Bobbito Garcia plays the tracks; Diamond D states the facts". Vibe: 35 – via Google Books.
6. Ettelson, Robbie (February 12, 2014). "Diamond D – The Unkut Interview". Unkut. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
7. Nelson, Havelock (August 2, 1997). "Diamond D's Hip-Hop 'Hiatus' Ends with 'Hatred' on Mercury". Billboard. pp. 27 and 32 – via Google Books.
8. "Diamond D - The Rear View". Apple Music. Retrieved August 19, 2022.

• African-American record producers
• American hip-hop record producers
• African-American male rappers
• Rappers from the Bronx
• Five percenters
• Diggin' in the Crates Crew members
• Mercury Records artists
• East Coast hip-hop musicians
• Underground rappers
• Living people
• 1968 births
• 20th-century American rappers
• 21st-century American rappers
• Record producers from New York (state)
• People from Morrisania, Bronx