Diamonds from Sierra Leone

2005 single by Kanye West
Diamonds found in Sierra Leone

"Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (originally "Diamonds") is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his second studio album, Late Registration (2005). The song was produced by West, Jon Brion, and Devo Springsteen. The producers, with the exception of Brion, are credited as songwriters alongside John Barry and Don Black, who both received credit due to their composition being sampled. The song was initially centered around the demise of Roc A Fella Records, though was later re recorded once West learned about blood diamonds in Sierra Leone. West premiered the song for Hot 97 on April 20, 2005, before it was sent to US mainstream radio stations the following month as the album's lead single, through Roc A Fella and Def Jam. In the chorus, West interpolated the phrase "forever ever, forever ever" from OutKast's "Ms. Jackson". A hip hop song, "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" features a sample of "Diamonds Are Forever", performed by Shirley Bassey. Lyrically, it sees West connect his material wealth to Sierra Leone's blood diamonds and the resulting civil war. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who mostly complimented West's lyricism. They often emphasized the rapper's focus on his status, while some critics praised the sampling of "Diamonds Are Forever". The song was awarded Best Rap Song at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards and won one of the Pop Awards at the 2006 BMI London Awards, before being named by Slant Magazine as among the best singles of the 2000s decade. In the United States, the song peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 21 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart in 2005. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" reached number eight in the United Kingdom, alongside attaining top 20 positions in Denmark, Finland, Ireland, and Norway. It has since been certified platinum and silver in the US and the UK by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and British Phonographic Industry (BPI), respectively. An accompanying black and white music video was released on June 15, 2005. In the video, scenes of children experiencing rough diamond mining in Sierra Leone are displayed, being accompanied at points by a De Beers commercial and cuts of West wandering around Prague. It received a nomination for Outstanding Music Video at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards Japan. West performed the song at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Glastonbury Festival in 2006 and 2015, respectively. A remix of "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", featuring Jay Z, was sent to US radio stations by Roc A Fella and Def Jam on June 15, 2005. The remix also samples Bassey's "Diamonds Are Forever" and sees Jay Z rapping in the second part. Lyrically, it includes references to deaths of civilians in blood diamond mines and tension around consumerism. The remix garnered mostly positive responses from critics; they commonly appreciated the subject matter and some commended Jay Z's appearance. It was ranked amongst best of lists by multiple publications, including Dagsavisen and Rockdelux in 2005. West and Jay Z performed the remix at the 2005 Summer Jam.

American record producer and composer Jon Brion had achieved fame from his distinctive production work for artists and film scores for auteurs, though was lacking experience in hip hop. West became a fan of singer songwriter Fiona Apple whom Brion had produced for; while watching 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, he appreciated Brion's score. The pair became connected via their mutual friend Rick Rubin; West quickly phoned Brion and they instantly formed chemistry with each other. West enlisted him to work on Late Registration, marking Brion's first involvement in a hip hop project; the decision created confused reactions across his fanbase. Brion imagined people commenting that West has "gone off his rocker" and envisioning him making "an art record with some crazy, left field music guy", clarifying this not to be "the case whatsoever". The song's production was handled by West, Brion, and Devo Springsteen, all of whom co wrote it apart from Brion. Bassey revealed in September 2005 that she "didn't know anything about the song before its release" and assumed West did not request permission "to have me singing on his song", recalling not knowing of it until hearing West "performing it at the Live8 concert". She also alluded to a lack of contact "from his record company, which wasn't very nice". Bassey desired "to look into" West's usage of her vocals since he was "very cheeky", asserting that "one way or another he is going to have to pay me a lot of money". According to British media law specialist Elin Pinnell, a recording deal's "certain rights to your work to various different people" who allow its media exploitation and the likelihood of West gaining permission from one of Bassey's representatives meant he was probably guilty of no wrongdoing. The song was originally recorded under the title of "Diamonds", being about West's "posse" and their everlasting strong bond. West recalled that when he played the song for fellow rapper Q Tip after they first met, the rapper told him about the blood diamonds from Sierra Leone, which were mined in a war area and sold internationally in an illegal manner for parliamentary funding. This led to West re recording it as "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", and reading about the issue of conflict diamonds and how their sales were continuing a violent civil war in Sierra Leone, though the track still included the original's lyrics. He set out to do whatever he "could to learn more and educate people about the problem" from this point onwards, being enthusiastic to rap about it. West premiered it via Hot 97 on April 20, 2005, with fellow rapper Jay Z telling radio personality Angie Martinez that West was not comfortable with the debut until mixing had been done about 14 times. The rapper cited memories of Jay Z's Blueprint Lounge Tour (2001) and recollections of being among the movement of his record label Roc A Fella as inspiration for the song, adding that he still maintained a friendship with former chief executive officer Dame Dash. The song contains a sped up and looped sample of Bassey's "Diamonds Are Forever", written by Barry and Black, the former of whom also arranged and conducted the recording. According to West, the song reminds him of "athletes running", "somebody boxing", and "working out when it gets really hype"; he envisioned it as "the soundtrack to your life". The song contains guitars, contributed by record producer Dave Tozer. alongside showing off his status. West looks at potentially receiving his desired level of praise, asking: "If you talkin' 'bout classics, do my name get brought up?" On the chorus, West offers his "forever ever ever EVER ever" loyalty to Roc A Fella. West also addresses his relationship with Dash: "You know the next question, 'Yo, where's Dame at? '/ This track's the Indian dance to bring our reign back." The song was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, with them frequently praising the lyrical content. Writing for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis noted it showcases West's unique role of the only popular rapper taking on politics by drawing "the links between the jewellery trade and Sierra Leone's civil war", being impressed with his attempt to discuss topics outside of his wealth and how funny "shooting people is, which is more than you can say for his contemporaries". The staff of the Manchester Evening News saw the song as being built by reworking Bassey's "vocal styling" from "Diamonds Are Forever" with "an electro tinged twist", assuring that the lyrical content is "simply toasting West's stardom". In a review for Uncut, Simon Reynolds noticed that the song's "giddy ascending chorus" demonstrates West pledging true loyalty to Roc A Fella after the label saved him from uncertain times, as well as commenting on the rapper's chants seemingly "showing off his new status symbols" less than "his aesthetic riches". The Observer writer Kitty Empire stated the song did not only "loop a Shirley Bassey sample", but also constructed "lush arrangements around it". Rabin further saw the song as "about the world racing along way too fast" and the sort of "scary sustained high" that appears to be never ending, though felt "it echoes the less ambivalent joy" of fellow album tracks "Touch the Sky" and "We Major".

On Qs Readers 100 Greatest Tracks Of 2005 list, "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" was voted in at number 69. The track was named by Slant Magazine as the 86th best single of the 2000s decade; Cataldo directed praise towards the "Diamonds Are Forever" sample and West's skill "at transposing first world guilt into the personal sphere". In 2013, the results of a Rolling Stone readers' poll ranked it as West's ninth best song. The track won the Best Rap Song award at the 2006 Grammy Awards, alongside receiving one of the Pop Awards at the 2006 BMI London Awards. It garnered a nomination for the award of Outstanding Song at the 2006 NAACP Image Awards.

In May 2005, it was reported that West was in Prague shooting a music video for "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", which was filmed over a three day period. West explained that due to his heavy interest in architecture and art, he felt attracted to the city's sculptures, cathedrals, and stone floors. West goes on to drive his expensive car into a jewelry store, though jumps out before the vehicle makes impact. It was nominated for the awards of Best Male Video and Outstanding Music Video at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards Japan and the 2005 NAACP Image Awards, respectively.

"Diamonds from Sierra Leone" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 94 for the chart issue dated May 21, 2005. The song reached number 83 in its third week on the Hot 100, before declining 11 places back to number 94 on the issue dated June 11, 2005. The following week, the song rebounded by 36 positions to number 58 on the chart. The song fell down the Hot 100 again by five places to number 63 on the issue dated June 25, 2005, though eventually surpassed the rebound position by peaking at number 43 in its 12th week on the chart. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" lasted for 19 weeks on the Hot 100. It debuted at number 18 on the US Hot Rap Songs chart issue dated May 14, 2005, ultimately climbing to number 11 three weeks later. The song further peaked at number 24 on the US Rhythmic chart. For 2005, the track ranked at number 98 on the year end chart. The track experienced similar performance in Denmark, peaking at number nine on the Tracklisten Top 40. while he performed it at Abbey Road Studios in London on September 21, for his first live album Late Orchestration (2006). The rapper performed a medley of the song, "Touch the Sky", and fellow Late Registration track "Gold Digger" at the 2006 Brit Awards, marking his first performance at the ceremony. While performing, he was supported by 77 dancers that were spray painted gold. On July 1, 2007, West performed the song at 8:56 p. m. as the last number of his set for part 3 of Princess Diana memorial event Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, London, a week before he delivered a performance of it for the Live Earth concert at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. West quickly made his way to the stage at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange for T on the Fringe 2007 while the sample of "Diamonds Are Forever" on "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" played, before he performed the song. The performance saw him accompanied by a full sized harp and a large group of tall violinists that wore golden ball gowns, and was reacted to positively by the crowd. At Summer Jam 2008 on June 1, West started his appearance by performing "Diamonds from Sierra Leone". He was backed by explosive lights, pyrotechnics, and a multiple piece band, though focused heavily on the music while hunched over. West performed a medley of hits that included the song and "Jesus Walks" (2004) at the 2009 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London, while rocking his customary aviator shades and black suit jacket. West provided a performance of the song at the 2011 Coachella Festival. West performed a shortened version of it as part of a medley of over 10 songs for 12 12 12: The Concert for Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 12, 2012, while rocking a Pyrex hoodie and leather kilt. He performed the song for his headlining appearance at the 2014 Bonnaroo Music Festival. The tempo for West's headlining set at the 2015 Glastonbury Festival went up from earlier during his performance of the song, which began from the set's 1:05:37 mark. The crowd cheered loudly in response to the performance, as well as yelling the lyrics back at West. Fellow rapper Lupe Fiasco raps over the song's instrumental on "Conflict Diamonds", which was released on his second mixtape Fahrenheit 1/15 Part II: Revenge of the Nerds (2006). The song's lyrics feature Lupe Fiasco discussing the illegal diamond trade in Africa, mostly referencing the western area of the continent. For the song's conclusion, he raps: "Props to Kanye, I call it 'Conflict Diamonds'."

On June 15, 2005, the remix of "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", featuring Jay Z, impacted radio in the US, through Roc A Fella and Def Jam. On August 30, 2005, the remix was included as the thirteenth track on Late Registration, coming seven places before the original. Jay Z mostly discusses his ongoing feud with Dash, while he also pledges allegiance to his frequent collaborator Memphis Bleek after the rapper's albums had not sold well. The remix was mostly well received by critics, often being praised for the subject matter. Rabin believed the "Jay Z blessed remix" evokes West's common theme of "the tension between criticizing consumerism and feeling powerless" to avoid the temptations. Azeem Ahmad from musicOMH saw it as both "excruciatingly haunting" and a masterpiece. In a negative review for Prefix Mag, Matthew Gasteier complained that West sounds as if he was given "a five minute rundown on the issue" to prepare him for writing the remix. The Remix was positioned at number 16 on Dagsavisens best songs list for 2005. It was ranked at number 55 on a list of 2005's greatest songs by Blender, with the staff writing that "a 007 sample" is deployed "to bitch slap De Beers" and Jay Z utilizes his best skill by rhyming about himself. On a list by Complex of the best songs from the magazine's 2002 formation to their decade anniversary in 2012, the remix was placed 87th. In 2015, The Guardian listed it as West's fourth best song. Billboard crowned the remix as West and Jay Z's best collaboration in 2011, while Capital FM named it as their second best seven years later. At Summer Jam 2005, West brought out Jay Z to perform the remix. Within West's 2007 track "Big Brother", he admits Jay Z outperformed him on the remix: "I swore I spazzed/Then my big brother came through and kicked my ass."

+Release dates and formats for "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" Region Date Format Version Label(s) Ref. (Reference(s)) United States May 2005 Mainstream radio Original Roc A Fella Records, Roc A Fella, Def Jam Recordings, Def Jam June 21, 2005 Vinyl July 5, 2005 Digital download Remix Australia August 1, 2005 CD Universal Australia United States August 2, 2005 Universal