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 The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, 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 John Byas (born November 18, 1961), also known as The Original Jazzy Jay or DJ Jazzy Jay, is an American hip hop Turntablism, DJ and producer. Background Jazzy Jay was born into a Gullah family in coastal South Carolina. He moved with his famil ...

'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 A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip< ...

'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 The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for his production on the title track from The Fugees' ''

The Score The Score may refer to: Films and television * The Score (1978 film), ''The Score'' (1978 film), a 1978 Swedish film, released in Sweden as ''Lyftet'' * The Score (2001 film), ''The Score'' (2001 film), a 2001 crime drama film starring Robert De Ni ...

'' 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond D African-American record producers American hip-hop record producers African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers 20th-century 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