Joseph Kirkland (born April 5, 1968), better known by his stage name Diamond D, 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 The Diggin' in the Crates Crew, commonly known as D.I.T.C., is an American hip hop collective formed in 1992 in New York City. The collective's name derives from the act of seeking out records to sample for production. The collective is compos ...

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

'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."

Recording career

In addition to Jazzy Jay's teachings, Diamond credited

Brand Nubian Brand Nubian is an American hip hop group from New Rochelle, New York, composed of three emcees ( Grand Puba, Sadat X and Lord Jamar), and formerly three DJs (DJ Alamo, DJ Sincere, and DJ Stud Doogie). Their debut studio album, '' One for All' ...

member

Grand Puba Maxwell Dixon (born March 4, 1964), known professionally as Grand Puba, is an American rapper and emcee, best known as one of the members of the group Brand Nubian from New Rochelle, New York. Biography He made his debut as Grand Puba Max ...

as his inspiration to start rapping. An early guest appearance on

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American 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 ''Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop'' is the debut album from hip hop Producer-Rapper Diamond D, released on September 22, 1992. The album features some of the earliest appearances from Diamond's later D.I.T.C. partners Big L and Fat Joe da Gangsta, as ...

.'' 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 Mark Howard James (born October 16, 1961) professionally known as The 45 King (also known as DJ Mark the 45 King), is an American hip hop record producer and disc jockey (DJ) from The Bronx borough of New York City. James began DJing in The Bron ...

with clearing the samples for that beat. It took him 30 minutes to construct the beat 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), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for his production on the title track from

The Fugees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

' '' 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 sophomore record ''

Hatred, Passions and Infidelity ''Hatred, Passions and Infidelity'' is the second album from hip hop producer and emcee Diamond D, released five years after his acclaimed debut, '' Stunts, Blunts and Hip Hop''. The reason for the extended time between albums was due primarily ...

,'' 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

References

External links

MyspaceDanishDox: BEAT DIGGIN´
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond D 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 Underground rappers Living people 1968 births 20th-century American rappers 21st-century American rappers Record producers from New York (state)