Diamonds from Sierra Leone
Encyclopedia : D : DI : DIA : Diamonds from Sierra Leone
| "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Single by Kanye West | ||
| From the album Late Registration | ||
| Released | 2005 | |
| Format | Digital download Digital download (Remix) 12" maxi single | |
| Genre | Rap | |
| Length | 3:58 | |
| Label | Roc-A-Fella/ Island Def Jam | |
| Writers | Kanye West Devon Harris John Barry Don Black | |
| Producers | Kanye West Jon Brion D.Springsteen | |
| Director | ||
| Certification | Uncertified | |
| Chart positions | #8 (UK) #43 (USA) | |
| Kanye West singles chronology | ||
| "The New Workout Plan" 2004 | "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" 2005 | "Gold Digger" 2005 |
"Diamonds from Sierra Leone" was the first single from Kanye West's second album, Late Registration. Released in 2005, the single samples Shirley Bassey's theme song for the 1971 James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever.
The song peaked at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100, was moderately successful on the iTunes music service, and peaked at #8 on the UK Top 40. The song is about Roc-A-Fella, and the chorus "Throw ya diamonds in the sky" refers to the Roc-A-Fella hand sign, which is in the shape of a diamond.
This song is also what West says is his first example of "white crunk", a term he coined to describe Scottish rock group Franz Ferdinand's sound. The song was originally inspired by a set of 419 scam letters that West received regarding diamonds from Sierra Leone from "Jerry Sankoh", a man claiming to be the son of a deceased general in Sierra Leone. However, this only came to West's attention after the songs completion, and he swiftly changed the title form just "Diamonds". The end product is a protest free song with a protest video.
After making the song, West learned more about the plight of West African children who mine conflict diamonds and die in civil wars financed by diamonds and decided he would use the video to get this message across. He also recorded a remix of the song, featuring Jay-Z, where he talks about conflict diamonds. The remix was included on the album, whereas the original version was included as a bonus track.
It is worth noting that, if you isolate the first very little bit of the a capella (even before Kanye says "close ya eyes and imagine") you will hear an odd high-pitched sound unheard in the full track with the instrumental. This is regarded sometimes as white noise.
This song won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Rap Song.
External links
- [Fan-made music video] with Kanye West's "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" as the audio track
- [Opening credits of the Bond film Diamonds are Forever]
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