Interview: Diamond (3/16/10)

Diamond was only 16-years-old when Crime Mob burst onto the national scene with the high energy single, “Knuck if You Buck.”

The track serves as one of the best examples of Crunk music outside of what Lil Jon was making at the height of his career. Diamond’s verse steals the show, and the opening lines, “I come in the club shakin’ my dreds/ Throwin these bo’s and bustin these heads,” still get me hyped!

Diamond is currently building up a lot of renewed hype and getting ready to drop her debut solo album.  However, before the album drops, she’s giving her fans a few mixtapes to hold them over.  The latest of which being the impressive Bitch Muzik 3 hosted by DJ Scream (full stream at the bottom).

Last week, between her two appearances on BET, Diamond spoke to HipHopAtLunch.com about working with Yelawolf, meeting Nicki Minaj, and her upcoming Cocaine Waitress mixtape.

It was cool hearing Diamond’s “Go Shorty Go” ringtone go off during our interview, Travis Porter is really blowing up quick!

Artists should follow what Diamond’s Bad Bitch Clique (Tiny, Toya, Kandi, and Rasheeda) are doing with their “Tweet and Meets.”  Engaging with fans in this manner forms a special bond outside of just a hit song.  Artists who get their fans to love and respect them as a person are going to have longevity. Having said that, I wish I could’ve seen those girls get drunk and sing karaoke, ha!

One interesting factor that should really help propel Diamond’s career is her manager, Dr. Teeth, who’s responsible for some of the game’s best music videos, working with artists such as Lil Wayne, T.I., Lupe Fiasco, Mike Jones, and Dourrogh.  Timed correctly, an impressive video from Dr. Teeth could jump start her career.

While we wait for that video, there’s a few on the near horizon worth watching for:

Yelawolf – “Lick The Cat” (Featuring Diamond)

The visuals for Yelawolf’s “Lick The Cat” featuring Diamond should be amazing, as their chemistry on the sexual song was one of Trunk Muzik’s highlights.  I had never thought about how rare the black girl-white boy collaboration was in sensual songs until I heard her explain it in our interview.

Diamond – “Smash Da Homies”

Also, the Will Power produced, “Smash Da Homies,” has been creating a great deal of buzz and should feature some of the girls from For the Love of Ray J in the video. Check out the track’s second verse where Diamond’s sped up flow brings me back to the Crime Mob days!

Outside of upcoming videos, I’m interested in seeing where Diamond goes with her Cocaine Waitress tape.  I’d like to see her take a central theme on the tape and have each track build off the last, telling a complete story.  It’d be worth the effort to make the project more than just a collection of hot tracks in order to expand her fan base while providing a fun movie-like experience!

I was very impressed by the conceptual breakdown of the Mr. & Mrs. Smith mixtape with Lil Scrappy, as the tape features three Diamond tracks, three Lil Scrappy tracks, and six songs where they are collaborating together.  That’s a cool idea which should make for a great listen!

If you still haven’t heard Bitch Muzik 3, check it out below.  Two standout tracks not mentioned in this article are ”Living In The Mall,” and “Massaratti,” featuring Dorrough and Ebony Love.