Sidney Diamond (born 7 July 1986), previously known by the stage name Young Sid, is a New Zealand

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Biography

Sid Diamond was born in

South Auckland South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though not ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

and later moved to

Manukau City Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is sometimes referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. He is of Cook Island and

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

descent, and was raised in the Manukau suburb of

Ōtara Ōtara is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand (formerly Manukau City), situated 18 kilometres to the southeast of the Auckland CBD. Ōtara lies near the head of the Tamaki River (actually an arm of the Hauraki Gulf), which extends south tow ...

. He used his aunt's address to attend

Papatoetoe High School Papatoetoe High School (PHS) is a secondary school (years 9–13) in Papatoetoe suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. History Papatoetoe High School was established in 1956. February 2021 COVID-19 outbreak On 14 February, a Year 9 student at Papato ...

. Diamond's father, Vincent George, was the president of a gang called the

Tribesmen The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...

, and his mother, Victoria, was an alcoholic who died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

in 2009. His older brother, Karlos, who is currently imprisoned, was an aspiring rapper under the name Mr Sicc, and a member of an Ōtara gang called Bad Troublesome Ward. At a young age, Diamond was arrested twice for fighting, and carried weapons such as a knife and an axe, but said in a 2009 interview that Karlos worked to prevent him from getting involved with gangs. Sid first became attracted to American hip hop after listening to Karlos' copy of the 1988

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is wide ...

single " Gangsta Gangsta."

Young Sid biography Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

– Allmusic He recorded his first song at the age of eleven, and was part of a short-lived group called The Murder Squad.

Career

Diamond formed hip-hop trio Smashproof in 2005 with members Tyree and Deach, and they signed a contract with

Move The Crowd Records Smashproof is a New Zealand hip hop group, consisting of Sid Diamond, Tyree, and Deach. The name "Smashproof" is a play on the word "Bulletproof". They are best known for the song "Brother", in which they show their version of what is going on ...

(a subsidiary of

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

) during his first semester of university; he dropped out shortly thereafter in order to pursue his music career full-time. His solo debut, ''The Truth,'' was released on Move The Crowd in 2007, and featured a guest appearance by

Chamillionaire Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He was the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click from 2001 until the group split in 2005. He began hi ...

. He spent three weeks in New York recording the tracks, many of which were produced in Croatia, France, and Auckland. The album would then go on to debut at No. 27 in its lone week on the

RIANZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded M ...

top-40 album charts on 10 September,RIANZ Albums Chart, 10/9/07
/ref> and won Urban Album of the Year honors at the 2008 Māori Music Awards. However, he came under controversy in February 2008 when he appeared in a music video for the track "Put Your Colourz On", which featured South Auckland street gang members. His first album with Smashproof, titled ''The Weekend,'' was released in March 2009. The featured single, "Brother," broke a 23-year-old record for the longest consecutive run at number one by a New Zealand-based act on the country's singles chart.
– Move the Crowd Blog, 1 January 2009 Sid was the opening act for

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be p ...

's ''Straight Outta Compton Tour'' concert in

on 22 August 2007. In 2010, Diamond released his second album, '' What Doesn't Kill Me...'', which charted for eight weeks and won him his second Urban Album of the Year at the Māori Music Awards.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Mixtape Appearances

Other guest appearances

Awards and nominations

Nesian Vibes Awards

Māori Music Awards

New Zealand Music Awards

References

External links

*
Official MySpace page

Music videos

Amplifier.co.nz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond, Sid 1986 births New Zealand people of Cook Island descent New Zealand hip hop New Zealand rappers Living people Musicians from Auckland People educated at Papatoetoe High School