Diamond Industry Upset Over Kanye West Song

[DeactiveCarib]

Diamond Industry Upset Over Kanye West SongPosted by Dave
Rap News Network Staff
6/23/2005 10:33:15 AMThis is a perfect example of how Hip Hop can ideally be used. Seems like corporations have no problem when artists run around freely giving props to their products resulting in the masses rushing out and buying whatever they heard being rapped about. However, when a popular artists starts shining light on a bad situation resulting in the masses staying home, suddenly we have a problem that needs to be corrected.

Props to Kanye West for speaking about a terrible situation in Sieera Leonne.. Now lets see whether or not big time politics, money and pressure shuts him and that song down.. Lets hope not.. More importantly lets encourage more artists to do the same..

- D

Hip-hop star gives diamonds bad rap
By Susan Thea Posnock

New York -- When rapper Kanye West first wrote his new single "Diamonds from Sierra Leone," the song had a title De Beers would have been proud of: "Diamonds are Forever."

But, Vibe magazine reports that West reworked the song when he heard about conflict diamonds. Now the lyrics and new video—which premiered on BET last night—contrast the bling with the darker side of the trade.

"I wanted to do whatever I could to learn more and educate people about the problem," West told Billboard. The cut is No. 27 this week on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and will air on MTV's Total Request Live on Monday.

MTV reports that West pleads in his rap, "Good morning, this ain't Vietnam/ Still, people lose hands, legs, arms for real." Later in the song, he asks, "These ain't conflict diamonds, is they Jacob?"

Diamond Information Center spokesman Carson Glover said in an e-mailed statement that the issue of conflict diamonds is one the industry takes very seriously, and is united against.

"While we have not viewed Mr. West's new video, the lyrics of the song certainly do not reflect the tremendous work the diamond industry has done in conjunction with the [United Nation's] sanctioned Kimberly Process introduced in 2000," Glover said. "In response to the Kimberley Process governmental scheme, the diamond industry introduced a ‘certificate of origin’ allowing only legitimate diamonds to be traded on the global market, therefore creating a zero tolerance environment for conflict diamonds around the world."

He added, "The volume of conflict diamonds in circulation is believed to have dropped below 1 percent, if any at all, and it is virtually impossible for unscrupulous dealers to sell non-certified rough diamonds."

"Diamonds" is the first single off of West's second record "Late Registration" which comes out in August. His debut album, "The College Dropout" has sold 2.7 million copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.

[citcat]

Conflict diamonds? Is that another phrase meaning, competition??
DeBeers is evil and must be destroyed.
I'll repeat it again.
DeBeers is evil and must be destroyed.
Monopoly, especially when accompanied with subterfuge and murder, is bad.
'Nuff said.
Now I shall be hiring ten 'Charleston' types to protect me.

the tanzanite industry is just as bad

[DeactiveCarib]

i really respect and admire Kanye West for actually making music about stuff that actually matters, not just rapping about "bling" and "hoez n' bitchez n' weed n' gats"

[RinglingRingling]

Diamond Industry Upset Over Kanye West SongPosted by Dave
Rap News Network Staff
6/23/2005 10:33:15 AMThis is a perfect example of how Hip Hop can ideally be used. Seems like corporations have no problem when artists run around freely giving props to their products resulting in the masses rushing out and buying whatever they heard being rapped about. However, when a popular artists starts shining light on a bad situation resulting in the masses staying home, suddenly we have a problem that needs to be corrected.

Props to Kanye West for speaking about a terrible situation in Sieera Leonne.. Now lets see whether or not big time politics, money and pressure shuts him and that song down.. Lets hope not.. More importantly lets encourage more artists to do the same..

- D

Hip-hop star gives diamonds bad rap
By Susan Thea Posnock

New York -- When rapper Kanye West first wrote his new single "Diamonds from Sierra Leone," the song had a title De Beers would have been proud of: "Diamonds are Forever."

But, Vibe magazine reports that West reworked the song when he heard about conflict diamonds. Now the lyrics and new video—which premiered on BET last night—contrast the bling with the darker side of the trade.

"I wanted to do whatever I could to learn more and educate people about the problem," West told Billboard. The cut is No. 27 this week on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and will air on MTV's Total Request Live on Monday.

MTV reports that West pleads in his rap, "Good morning, this ain't Vietnam/ Still, people lose hands, legs, arms for real." Later in the song, he asks, "These ain't conflict diamonds, is they Jacob?"

Diamond Information Center spokesman Carson Glover said in an e-mailed statement that the issue of conflict diamonds is one the industry takes very seriously, and is united against.

"While we have not viewed Mr. West's new video, the lyrics of the song certainly do not reflect the tremendous work the diamond industry has done in conjunction with the [United Nation's] sanctioned Kimberly Process introduced in 2000," Glover said. "In response to the Kimberley Process governmental scheme, the diamond industry introduced a ‘certificate of origin’ allowing only legitimate diamonds to be traded on the global market, therefore creating a zero tolerance environment for conflict diamonds around the world."

He added, "The volume of conflict diamonds in circulation is believed to have dropped below 1 percent, if any at all, and it is virtually impossible for unscrupulous dealers to sell non-certified rough diamonds."

"Diamonds" is the first single off of West's second record "Late Registration" which comes out in August. His debut album, "The College Dropout" has sold 2.7 million copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Key words, "Is believed" and "virtually impossible". Not "is less than 1%" and "is impossible". And I would believe even those key words are more spin than fact.

Unless you watched them come out of the mine in the RSA, or the Soviet Union, there are going to be ways to dummy up a shipment.

[sonofabeach]

i really respect and admire Kanye West for actually making music about stuff that actually matters, not just rapping about "bling" and "hoez n' bitchez n' weed n' gats"

don't let a couple of songs fool you.
I have not respected him since he looked like a whining punk at a music awards show when upset that he did not win best new artist, disrespecting Gretchen Wilson. "I'm the best new artist, get that other b#***** out of here". Precisely the type of thug attitude that has turned me off to today's hip hop for the most part.

[DeactiveCarib]

i really respect and admire Kanye West for actually making music about stuff that actually matters, not just rapping about "bling" and "hoez n' bitchez n' weed n' gats"

don't let a couple of songs fool you.
I have not respected him since he looked like a whining punk at a music awards show when upset that he did not win best new artist, disrespecting Gretchen Wilson. "I'm the best new artist, get that other b#***** out of here". Precisely the type of thug attitude that has turned me off to today's hip hop for the most part.

i dont really care. . he may be arrogant but i believe his arrogance is whats pushing him to make such great music. There really wasn't a single bad track his last album "College Dropout" and none of these songs were about shootin' people up or "bangin' hoez" . .. . it proves that he's honest to the music that he's making, he isn't fronting as some super OG that chinchecks his homies if they dont act right.

His production, on the otherhand, is just unbelievable

[msu#1]

Prior to the 1920's I believe, no one gave diamonds as engagement rings. The Diamond Cartell,(yes cartell!) got together an took out a advertising blitz to try to fool people into thinking Diamonds were needed for engagements, it worked and we've never questioned it since.

[land_shark3]

Conflict diamonds? Is that another phrase meaning, competition??

No, conflict diamonds regard to diamonds which are sold in order to fund military action against the government. Basically, its diamonds used to fund guerrilla warfare unlike DeBeer's which are just used to make rich people richer.

[sonofabeach]

i really respect and admire Kanye West for actually making music about stuff that actually matters, not just rapping about "bling" and "hoez n' bitchez n' weed n' gats"

don't let a couple of songs fool you.
I have not respected him since he looked like a whining punk at a music awards show when upset that he did not win best new artist, disrespecting Gretchen Wilson. "I'm the best new artist, get that other b#***** out of here". Precisely the type of thug attitude that has turned me off to today's hip hop for the most part.

i dont really care. . he may be arrogant but i believe his arrogance is whats pushing him to make such great music. There really wasn't a single bad track his last album "College Dropout" and none of these songs were about shootin' people up or "bangin' hoez" . .. . it proves that he's honest to the music that he's making, he isn't fronting as some super OG that chinchecks his homies if they dont act right.

His production, on the otherhand, is just unbelievable

Word, I'm feeling ya.
I still think he's a better producer than emcee.
Maybe I'm just becoming an old fart. Can't believe I'm saying this but my wife bought Ludacris and 50 Cent's cds and now at 33 I'm just not impressed with all of the cussing. I was brought up on old school hip hop and today's guys can't hold a candle to them.
You know it's not good music when you have to roll the window up to listen to it so you're not embarrassed.


And what's with the diamonds in hip hop anyway? Everytime I switch to MTV or BET for a good laugh there's some fool holding up his bling.
Whatever happened to a fat gold dooky rope? I had a fat fake one back in high school with a VW emblem on it

[12vmanRick]

I can see why anyone would listen to that crap anyway. When he did a song of his on an awards show a few months ago you could not understand him and it was HORRIBLE.

[RinglingRingling]

Conflict diamonds? Is that another phrase meaning, competition??

No, conflict diamonds regard to diamonds which are sold in order to fund military action against the government. Basically, its diamonds used to fund guerrilla warfare unlike DeBeer's which are just used to make rich people richer.

both dug by essentially slave labour to push pretty shiny things that are nowhere near as rare as the DeBeer's would like you to think they are... The difference is that where the DeBeers have legal title to the kimberlite tubes that hold diamonds, insurgents/guerillas tend to sweep in and terrorize local populations in western Africa (Sierra Leone comes to mind) and force them to dig or die.

[sonofabeach]

I just caught the video and while the video addresses the Sierra Leone situation the song has nothing to do with it.
It's a standard bragging type rap song. Pretty tight production though.

Lyrics :

Diamonds are forever
They won’t leave in the night
Have no fear that they might
Desert me

Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme.
Forever ever? Forever ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?……

Close your eyes and imagine, feel the magic
Vegas on acid,
Seen through these St. Laurent glasses
And I’ve realized that I’ve arrived, cuz
It take more than a magazine to kill my Vibe does
These writers don’t rhyme, so sort of
I thank ‘em
That mean I forgot better @#%$ than u ever thought up
Damn, is he really that caught up?
I ask if you talkin’ bout glasses, do my name get brought up?
I remember I couldn’t afford a Ford Escort, or even a 4 track recorder
so its only right that I let the top drop on a drop-top Porsche
- its for yourself that’s important
If a stripper named Porscha and u get tips from many men
Then your fat friend her nickname is minivan
Excuse me,
That’s just the Henny, man, I smoke, I drink, I’m supposed to stop I cant because

Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme.
Forever ever? Forever ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?……

I was sick about awards
Couldn’t nobody cure me
Only playa that got robbed but kept all his jewelry
Alicia Keys tried to talk some sense to them
30 minutes later seems there’s no convincing them
What more can you ask for?
The international awards? nah
Who complains about when he is old?
And throw a tantrum like he’s 3 years old
You gotta love it though somebody still speaks from his soul
And wouldn’t change by the change, or the game, or the fame, when he came, in the game, he made his own name
Now all I need is y’all to pronounce my name
Its Kanye - But some of my plaques - they still say Kane
Got family and a deacon, folk from Motown
Back in the Chi - them folks ain’t from Motown
Life movin’ too fast I need to slow down
Girl ain’t give me no ass, ya need to go down
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
My father Ben said I need Jesus
So he took me to church and let the water wash over my season
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
The preacher said we need leaders
Right then my body got still like a paraplegic

You know who you can call you gotta best believe it
The Roc stand tall and you would never believe it
Take your diamonds and throw ‘em up like you bulimic
Yea the beat cold but the flow is anemic

After debris settles and the dust get swept off
Big K pick up where young Hov left off
Right when magazines wrote Kanye West off
I dropped my new @#%$ sound like the best of
A&R's lookin’ like “pssh we messed up”
Grammy night, damn right, we got dressed up
Bottle after bottle till we got messed up
In the studio, where really though, yea he next up
People askin’ me if I’m gon’ give my chain back
That’ll be the day I give the game back
You know the next question dog “Yo, where Dame at?”
This track the Indian dance to bring our reign back
“What’s up with you and Jay, man, are y’all ok man?”
They pray for the death of our dynasty like Amen
R-r-r-right here stands a-man
With the power to make a diamond with his bare hands…

Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme.
Forever ever? Forever ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?……

Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)

[DeactiveCarib]

I just caught the video and while the video addresses the Sierra Leone situation the song has nothing to do with it.
It's a standard bragging type rap song. Pretty tight production though.

Lyrics :

Diamonds are forever
They won’t leave in the night
Have no fear that they might
Desert me

Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme.
Forever ever? Forever ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?……

Close your eyes and imagine, feel the magic
Vegas on acid,
Seen through these St. Laurent glasses
And I’ve realized that I’ve arrived, cuz
It take more than a magazine to kill my Vibe does
These writers don’t rhyme, so sort of
I thank ‘em
That mean I forgot better @#%$ than u ever thought up
Damn, is he really that caught up?
I ask if you talkin’ bout glasses, do my name get brought up?
I remember I couldn’t afford a Ford Escort, or even a 4 track recorder
so its only right that I let the top drop on a drop-top Porsche
- its for yourself that’s important
If a stripper named Porscha and u get tips from many men
Then your fat friend her nickname is minivan
Excuse me,
That’s just the Henny, man, I smoke, I drink, I’m supposed to stop I cant because

Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme.
Forever ever? Forever ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?……

I was sick about awards
Couldn’t nobody cure me
Only playa that got robbed but kept all his jewelry
Alicia Keys tried to talk some sense to them
30 minutes later seems there’s no convincing them
What more can you ask for?
The international awards? nah
Who complains about when he is old?
And throw a tantrum like he’s 3 years old
You gotta love it though somebody still speaks from his soul
And wouldn’t change by the change, or the game, or the fame, when he came, in the game, he made his own name
Now all I need is y’all to pronounce my name
Its Kanye - But some of my plaques - they still say Kane
Got family and a deacon, folk from Motown
Back in the Chi - them folks ain’t from Motown
Life movin’ too fast I need to slow down
Girl ain’t give me no ass, ya need to go down
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
My father Ben said I need Jesus
So he took me to church and let the water wash over my season
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
The preacher said we need leaders
Right then my body got still like a paraplegic

You know who you can call you gotta best believe it
The Roc stand tall and you would never believe it
Take your diamonds and throw ‘em up like you bulimic
Yea the beat cold but the flow is anemic

After debris settles and the dust get swept off
Big K pick up where young Hov left off
Right when magazines wrote Kanye West off
I dropped my new @#%$ sound like the best of
A&R's lookin’ like “pssh we messed up”
Grammy night, damn right, we got dressed up
Bottle after bottle till we got messed up
In the studio, where really though, yea he next up
People askin’ me if I’m gon’ give my chain back
That’ll be the day I give the game back
You know the next question dog “Yo, where Dame at?”
This track the Indian dance to bring our reign back
“What’s up with you and Jay, man, are y’all ok man?”
They pray for the death of our dynasty like Amen
R-r-r-right here stands a-man
With the power to make a diamond with his bare hands…

Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)
The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme.
Forever ever? Forever ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?……

Diamonds are forever (forever, forever)
Diamonds are forever (forever, forever, forever)

these are actually not the correct lyrics. That is the lyrics to the song "Diamonds", the song that the industry is upset about is the song "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" which is the song remixed with Jay-Z, and the lyrics actually aren't braggy at all for that one and are all about the conflict diamonds

check it out at rocafella.com

[sonofabeach]

I'll have to chizzeck that out.

[DeactiveCarib]

if you wanna check out the remix with Jay-Z (the song in question), click here:
http://mp.aol.com/audio.index.adp?pmmsi ... 344.p7.R37

[DeactiveCarib]

if anyone wants to hear Kanye's 2nd single off his new, unreleased album "Late Registration" click here: http://www.hiphopdx.com/audio/hottraxx/ ... digger.ram

The new song features JAMIE FOXX as RAY CHARLES. . . its interesting, worth checking out

[sonofabeach]

"I aint saying she's a goldigger, but she aint messing with no broke niggas"
Now that's poetry
Not the best beat but Jamie Foxx was right on.
I tapped out after the F-bomb.
A few years back I would have thought that was the bombdiggetydoowopshabang