Diamond
Do you feel like you’re able to express yourself better coming from a group situation to being a solo artist?
Oh for sure. It’s all about being able to express yourself creatively. With Crime Mob, we gave the label the crunk music they wanted, but now I wanna talk about other things besides knucking and bucking and wearing stilettos in the club.
Who is Diamond as an artist presently?
Well I’ve grown so I’m talking about different things like relationships and being independent. Embracing who I am as a woman, flaws and all. Also just trying different things creatively like playing with different melodies. I had people come in to play live drums and live piano on my record. That’s something you’ll now get a chance to see if you come to a Diamond show. There’s definitely a big different in Crime Mob Diamond, to independent Diamond, to present day Diamond.
Who were your musical idols?
My older sister actually. She used to rap. I was into poetry when she was already rapping. She stopped rapping when she got pregnant with my nephew and by time I had just gotten into it. I’d pass my poetry books around to classmates. They’d want me to write poems for them. Then my sister showed me how poetry was pretty much rap without a beat and showed me how to rap to a track. Then I met Crime Mob and the rest was history.
Name four other artists you’d include in your own super group along with yourself.
Missy Elliott, Left Eye, Eve, and lastly either Lil Kim or Da Brat. I cant’ choose!
What’s the best part of being a part of this show?
I’d say just being myself and getting a chance to connect and meet with other people. I love meeting people. But also it’s kinda helped me grow. When we first began filming I admit I kinda went in with my guard up. But after spending time with everyone I got more comfortable.
What’s the worst part of being a part of this show?
I was always taught “He who angers you controls you.” So opening up and being vulnerable and allowing people to see what makes me mad was definitely the worst part for me.
Name an album that you love and know word for word?
Oh there are so many. I know all of Master P’s albums. Three 6 Mafia. OutKast. Pretty much all the early South stuff that established the game for us.
What’s next for you that can fans can look forward to?
The whole gamut. Mixtapes, videos, albums, everything. I just wanna show the world my creative juices. Let them see that I can rap and make a good record.
