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

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

Biography

Sid Diamond was born in

South Auckland South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by Tāmaki M� ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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 also referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does not ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. 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, Auckland City Centre. Ōtara lies near the head of the Tāmaki River. The area is traditionally part of t ...

. 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 use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

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

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

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 group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

single " Gangsta Gangsta." Young Sid biography– 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 i ...

(a subsidiary of

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

) 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 began his career in Houston's hip hop scene in the late 1990s. He was briefly signed with the local record label Swishah ...

. 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 ...

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 O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

'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 male rappers Living people Musicians from Auckland People educated at Papatoetoe High School