Diamond D - Stunts, Blunts & Hip-Hop

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA280_.jpg
01. Intro
02. Best Kept Secret
03. Sally's Got A One Track Mind
04. Step To Me (prod. by Showbiz)
05. Shut The Fuck Up [skit]
06. Fuck What U Heard
07. I'm Outta Here (co-prod. by Showbiz)
08. A Day in The Life (ft. Brand Nubian)
09. Last Car On The 2 Train [skit]
10. Red Light, Green Light
11. I Went For Mine (prod. by Jazzy Jay)
12. Comments from Big L & Showbiz [skit]
13. Check One, Two (co-prod. by 45 King)
14. What You Seek
15. Lunchroom Chatter [skit]
16. Confused
17. Pass Dat Shit (ft. Fat Joe, Whiz One, Mike GQ)
18. Freestyle (Yo That's That Shit) (co-prod. by Large Pro)
19. K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple Stupid) (co-prod. by Q-Tip)
20. Stunts, Blunts & Hip-Hop
21. Wuffman Stressed Out [skit]
22. Feel The Vibe (co-prod. by Showbiz)
23. A View From The Underground

Great debut album from Diamond D with superior production, perfect sequencing and at least one choice cut for every '90s boom-bap head out there. the production is heavily focused around jazz and funk samples with booming bass and all sorts of psychadelic sounds thrown in the mix (just check "Red Light, Green Light").

Lyrically Diamond is pretty nice on the mic, nothing spectacular but he got mad charisma and enjoyable lyrics covering a variety of subjects while mainly focusing on the stunts, blunts and hip-hop of the world. he ain't no lyrical monster or very technically skilled on here but he proves the point that a decent MC with nice swag can make a classic if the beats are right.

One thing about the album though - this is one of them joints that you listen 3-4 tracks and skip a few before bumping 2 more. you play this LP from front-to-back with a loud-ass volume or just let it be. this is fucking classic in my book.

Lyrics: 8/10 Music: 10/10 Overall: 9/10

Yeah its a personal classic, one of my favourite D.I.T.C albums. Id give it 9/10 as well, havent bumped it in years actually

I love the base line on K.I.S.S. what a great track.

9/10 production is timeless and superior, one of 1992's best albums and Diamond D's finest album.

damn I've been bumping so much Diamond the last couple of days. I love this and "Hatred, Passions & Infidelity" + The Ultimate Force album, definitely one of the best hip-hop producers of all time.

haven't heard the whole thing, but Sally Got a One Track mind is one my favorite instrumentals

^^ if you're feeling "Sally" like that I'm pretty sure you'd love the rest of this album cuz the whole thing is on that vibe musically, heavy basslines and loads of sampled instruments from all kinds of records you could imagine. and it ain't no strictly looped shit either - this LP is really live.

I don't like this album but Best Kept Secret is my favorite song on there.

It's a solid 8/10 for me. Diamond D's limited rap skills prevent this from scoring higher.

anyone denying it 10/10 knows dick about hip hop ...

in my opinion Diamond D is an MC, and I mean that in terms of the real word Master of Cermonies. MCing ain't all about crazy lyrical techniques and multi-syllables as so many seem to think - Diamond has a great voice for rapping, he is entertaining on the mic, he ain't flowing off-beat plus he has pretty nice storytelling skills. at least on this album.... but of course it's the production that put him amongst the all time greats.

I remember NBA basketball player Anthony Mason who played for the Knicks was in Best Kept Secret video. He recently died. RIP to him. Sally Got A One Track Mind song made me laugh when Diamond D was dissing black women who are golddiggers. He said on the hook, if your rolling in dough and you wanna get with her, yeah you can get her hahahahahahahahahahahahaha. The black woman who was Sally in the video was 2Pac's woman in Above The Rim movie. I don't know her name.

This dropped thirty years ago today. One of my earliest hip hop memories