Diamond D Albums (4)
'The Huge Hefner Chronicles'
Release Date 9/30/2008
Tracks 12
Label Babygrande
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Hatred, Passion & Infidelity'
Release Date 8/26/1997
Tracks 16
Label Mercury
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What The Critics Say
Bronx-born artist Diamond D is both lyricist and producer, and happens to be proficient at both tasks. Hatred, Passion & Infidelity, the second solo album from Diamond D, doesn't reach the extreme heights of creativity and originality attained by his first album, Stunts, Blunts & Hip-Hop. Diamond produced 13 of the 16 tracks on this album, and as could be expected, his sense of melody and motivational rhythm makes each of them instrumentally interesting and enjoyable. His lyrical dexterity is exciting, providing a swift narrative which carries the listener willingly from song to song. However, this album suffers from thematic inconsistency; two spots, "Can't Keep My Grands to Myself" and "Cream N Sunshine," seem like forced attempts to attract a crossover, pop audience. The hybridization of R&B/pop and hip-hop instrumentation is unnatural, unsuccessful, and uncharacteristic of Diamond D. The rest of the tracks on this album excel and provide for an entertaining listen. Sideman John Dough adds strong lyrics to "Flowin'," "J.D.'s Revenge," and "On Stage." Reggae style chanter Don Barron (of Masters of Ceremony fame) gives an interesting touch to "MC Iz My Ambition." Phife (of A Tribe Called Quest) and lyricist/producer extraordinaire Pete Rock are both featured on "Painz and Strife." Diggin' in the Crates family members Fat Joe, Big L, Lord Finesse, and AG join Diamond on "5 Fingas of Death" for a dark and ominous posse cut. Legendary MC Sadat X (of Brand Nubians) and K. Terroribul join Diamond on "Never." K. Terroribul also appears on "K.T." and "On Stage." Aside from the two blemishes on this release, Hatred, Passion & Infidelity is a fair representation of Diamond D's skills on the microphone and behind the mixing board; an album a serious fan should have. ~ Qa'id Jacobs, All Music Guide
'Stunts, Blunts & Hip-Hop'
Release Date 1/1/1992
Tracks 23
Label Mercury
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What The Critics Say
Diamond D had quietly provided some exciting production work and made strides within the rap music industry and community throughout the early '90s, but his name didn't become immediately recognizable until his classic guest appearance rapping on A Tribe Called Quest's "Show Business" ("Take it from Diamond/It's like mountain climbing/When it comes to rhyming/You gotta put your time in"), off their masterful second album, The Low End Theory. Even amid vintage verses by such lauded hip-hop company as Tribe's Q-Tip and Phife and Brand Nubian's Lord Jamar and Sadat X, something about Diamond D's forthright and rock-solid, but totally laid-back, style stood out. Hip-hop heads waiting to hear more from him were rewarded with a veritable wealth of treasures when Stunts, Blunts & Hip-Hop, Diamond D's debut album, was released the following year. The album instantly became -- and remains -- something of an underground masterpiece. Stunts is a hugely sprawling, amorphous thing. Nearly 70 minutes would generally seem far too long for a hip-hop album to sustain any degree of good taste, especially one that is mostly song-based and keeps the de rigueur between-song skits to a minimum. There is, in fact, a fair amount of filler here; but even that filler, after several listens, is so ingratiating that the album would seem incomplete without it, and it helps the album to actually be listenable in its entirety, as a single, long, whole statement. Part of the reason even the filler works is because the production -- most of it by Diamond D himself -- is uniformly excellent. The music he comes up with is just as steady as his rhyming. As for his simile-heavy lyrics, they can occasionally seem stilted or awkward, and aren't exactly complex, but Diamond spins a long yarn -- sometimes autobiographical, sometimes fantastical, sometimes a projected scenario -- with the best of them, although he can also delve too often into blanket boasting, and sometimes his words lack any particular direction. It's the everyone-in-the-studio ambience, though, rather than any particular standout aspect, that propels the album. Certain songs do stand out from the overall tapestry of the album: the woeful girl-gone-wrong tale "Sally Got a One Track Mind"; "*!*! What U Heard," with its bouncy bassline; the insistent "Red Light, Green Light"; the Jazzy Jay-produced "I Went for Mine"; the loping "Check One, Two"; the groovy "Freestyle," co-produced by Large Professor; "K.I.S.S.," co-produced by Q-Tip; and the jazz-tinged "Feel the Vibe." But they make far more sense as part of the album's cycle. The most enjoyable way to listen to the album's individual parts is to also listen to the stuff that surrounds it. ~ Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide
