Diamonds from Sierra Leone
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| “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” | |||||
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| Single by Kanye West featuring Shirley Bassey from the album Late Registration |
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| Released | July 4, 2005 | ||||
| Format | Digital download Digital download (Remix) 12" maxi single |
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| Genre | East Coast Hip Hop, Hip Hop/Rap | ||||
| Length | 3:58 | ||||
| Label | Roc-A-Fella, Island Def Jam | ||||
| Writer(s) | Kanye West, Devon Harris, John Barry, Don Black | ||||
| Producer | Kanye West, Jon Brion, D. Springsteen | ||||
| Kanye West singles chronology | |||||
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"Diamonds from Sierra Leone", often referred to as "Diamonds Are Forever" or just "Diamonds," was the first single from Kanye West's second album, Late Registration. Released in 2005, the single heavily samples Shirley Bassey's theme song for the 1971 James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever although she is not credited. Dame Shirley Bassey was reported to be very impressed with Kanye's performance and wants to work with him in the future[1]French director Michel Gondry played drums on the song.[2].
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.
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. Hype Williams directed the video which was shot in black and white.[citation needed] He also recorded a remix of the song, featuring Jay-Z, where he talks about conflict diamonds. Some say that the remix was inspired by Lupe Fiasco's song "Conflict Diamonds", which itself uses the beat from Kanye's song.[citation needed] The remix was included on the album, whereas the original version was included as a bonus track.
This song won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Rap Song.
This song was originally named "Diamonds Are Forever" but because Jay-Z had a song on The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse called "Diamond Is Forever", Kanye changed it to "Diamonds from Sierra Leone".
Contents |
[edit] Single Tracklist
[edit] A-Side
- "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" [Clean] – 4:00
- "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" [Explicit] – 4:00
[edit] B-Side
- "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" [Instrumental] – 4:00
- "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" [A cappella] – 4:00
[edit] References
- ^ "Shirley Bassey Wants To Work With Kanye West" at http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2007/10/29/shirley_bassey_wants_to_work_with_kanye_
- ^ "Michel Gondry - Biography" at IMDb http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0327273/bio
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