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American hip hop producer (born 1968) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
Diamond D | |
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![]() Diamond D at A3C in Atlanta | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Joseph Kirkland |
Also known as | Diamond D |
Born | The Bronx, New York City, U.S.[1] | April 5, 1968
Genres | Hip hop |
Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 1987–present |
Labels |
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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]
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]
Album information |
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Stunts, Blunts and Hip Hop
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Hatred, Passions and Infidelity
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Grown Man Talk
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The Diamond Mine
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I'm Not Playin' (with Master Rob as Ultimate Force)
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The Huge Hefner Chronicles
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The Diam Piece
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The Diam Piece 2
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Gotham (with Talib Kweli)
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The Rear View
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Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
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US | US R&B |
US Rap | |||
"One for the Money" (Royce da 5'9" featuring Skillz and Diamond D) |
2012 | — | — | — | Non-album single |
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