Kanye West - Diamonds Remix feat. Jay-Z

I love the orginal "Diamonds from Sierra Leone," as ya'll already know. The remix is cool because of the lyrics, but Kanye's flow sounds rushed, and his voice on the chorus sounds different than the new verse. But maybe I'm just comparing him to his special guest Jay-Z who re-establishes the king of all flows with this one gift verse.

Kanye throws a bone towards the plight of Sierra Leonians (is that what they're called?) who's country suffer from the crooked diamond trade. Jay-Z adresses all types of recent personal issues, as you'll read and hear.

Before I give ya'll the mp3 and lyrics, let me say thanks to Chris for the posting the audio so quickly, Zo for transcribing it, and Coral for the hosting.

Here we go- Kanye West feat. Jay-Z- Diamonds for Sierra Leone Remix!

Lyrics:
[Kanye]
Good morning! This ain't Vietnam, still
People loses hands, legs, arms, for real
Little was known of Sierra Leone
and how it connected to the diamonds we own
When I speak of diamonds in the song
I ain't talking bout the ones to be glown
I'm talkin' bout Roc-a-Fella, my home
My chain, these ain't 'Conflict Diamonds'
Is they Jacob? Don't lie to me, man
See, a part of me say keep shinin'
How? When I know what a 'Blood Diamond' is
Though it's thousands of miles away
Sierra Leon connected to what we go through today
Over here, it's a drug trade, we die from drugs
Over there, they die from what we buy from drugs
The diamonds, the chains, the bracelets, the charms-es
I thought my Jesus piece was so harmless
'Til I seen a picture of a shorty armless
And here's the conflict...
It's in a black person's soul to rock that gold
Spend your whole life tryin' get that ice
Oh, the Polo rugby, you look so nice
How could something so wrong make me feel so right?
Right before I beat up myself like Ike
You could still throw your Roc-A-Fella Diamond tonight
Because...

<> ARE FOREVER

[Jay-Z]Yup! I got it from here, 'Ye, damn
The chain remains, the game is intact
The name is mine, I'll take the blame for that
The pressure's on, but guess who ain't gon' crack?
Pardon me, I had to laugh at that
How could you falter, when you the Rock of Gibralter
I had to get off the boat, so I could walk on water
This ain't no tall order, this is nothing to me
Typical takes a day, impossible takes a week
I do this in my sleep
I sold kilos of coke, I'm guessin' I could sell CDs
I'm not a business-man, I'm a business, man!
Let me handle my business, damn
Kanye-z, you got me, Freeway then Foxy,
YG's, Tearri Mari, Peedi, watch me
Bleek could be one hit away his whole career
As long as I'm alive, he's a millionaire
And even if I die, he's in my will somewhere
So he could just kick back and chill somewhere
Oh yeah, he don't even have to write rhymes
The Dynasty, like my money last three life times
Shirley Bassey in rear, saying "exactly''
Whatever, saying "practically" my whole career
The Diamond is forever, I be monumous forever
Now the Louis Vuitton Don is comin', couldn't be better
People lined up to see the Titanic sinking
Instead, we rose from the ashes like a phoenix
If you waitin' for end of the Dynasty sign
It would seem like forever, it's a mighty long time
I'm Young, bitches!
Goodnight!

Comments

[x]

these stupid ass niggas KNOW these diamonds are Blood. fuck them fake MCs and rap your hands around a dick bitch

[akl]

My wish came true...Ye' connected the dots and J drops knowledge...mayne!

Houston Hizzle

[Omar]

Without getting far into any political miracle stuff, I appreciate K's moral. But I think the original version fucks this one up.

[young ice]

this was too crazy of a fuckin beat for Jay to stay off, it was just time, thanx roc, love jay's flow!!!

[FRESCO]

The truth is comin' soon. Kanye, thanx Bro.

[J -Texas Twostep]

Hova is what it is.
Ye is just too good timing the ROC is forever.
I figured somebody wanted bleek to be a rapper. We'll Bleek if you read this. sleep ease non of your rhymes were crowd movers go head and just produce or manage YG's or something...

[Blkscholarnyc]

That's hot! I like Kanye's progress, and Jay pulls another one out of the air like it's nothing... I'm off to Limewire right now to download the dirty version.

[saintx]

hippers-hoppers need only "sample" a melody, add a cheesy drumtrak, and talk over it.
Where's the creativity in that?

[saintx]

ANTHRAX' "ARMED & DANGEROUS" playing on radio@aol.com RIGHT NOW !

[saintx]

JUDAS PRIEST's ELECTRIC EYE playing on radio@aol right now !
Now THAT's MUSIC ! ! !

I'm made of metal . . .

[saintx]

Aerosmith , one of the greatest rock bands ever, will NEVER be forgiven for hookin' up wit RunDMC ...

[saintadious]

BLACK SABBATH's "HOLE IN THE SKY" rockin' on radio@aol at this very moment.

Howcum rap lyrics on the radio are half deleated?

[saintx]

Just when the races were coming together peacefully, rap divided us all FOREVER

[rec]

Kanye's verse is actually written in direct response to a track called "Conflict Diamonds" by Lupe Fiasco(You can hear it on hiphopgame.com). On the track Lupe calls out Kanye on the apparent contradictions of rockin' diamonds. And Kanye is actually man enough to face up to this and discuss his feelings on this issue. Kanye keeps surprising me with his honesty and earnestness a little more everyday. Peace to those who think before they write

[Aminata]

I'm from Sierra Leone but live in MD. I'm surprised that such a mainstream artist like Kanye came out with a song like this. Sierra Leone is one of the most talked about countries in the world, and the 10 year long civil war went ignored for a long time. Although the song is a little late in it's message, blood diamonds are still a big problem, and although only a small amount of all diamond sales are attributed to blood diamonds, it is still to many. Blood diamonds ultimately fueled and payed for the war that didn't need to take place. Sierra Leone is a beautiful county, with an abundance of natural resources, including diamonds....yet, it remains deeply impoverished, thanks to European Imperialism and the Slave Trade...I'm just hoping now that Kanye West brought to light all of this Americans, especially Black Americans will more aware of what is taking/taken place in Africa...

BTW, it is Sierra Leoneans, with an "E." :)

[Aminata]

oh, i meant to say Sierra Leone is NOT one of the most talked about countries.

[rocwell]

The Lupe Fiasco version puts both original and remix to shame.

[rec]

I think Kanye should be commended for talking about it, but he had the opportunity the first time and it took Lupe Fiasco to call him out to do the track. "Conflict Diamonds" by Lupe Fiasco came out before the "Diamonds Remix". At the end he even throws a bone at Kanye saying "No disrespect to Kanye but you need to know to be a hypocrite...Now you know!" Don't sleep on Lupe and "Conflict Diamonds"

[Jason]

yo this shit is tight
big up to kanye n jayz fa comin together on this one ......CLASSIC SHIT!!!!
How could you falter, when you the Rock of Gibralter
I had to get off the boat, so I could walk on water
This ain't no tall order, this is nothing to me
Difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week

[jam]

hmmm... you know i'd love to listen to it but the linky ain't linking?

[leese]

Kayne continue to keeps it real!! I had no clue about how this accessorie that we love here in America, affects people's everyday lives across the world!! I believe Kayne has the ability and talent to change the game for ever!!! He has opened my eyes in many more ways than one!!! Kayne continude to do what you do, and fuck all the haters!!!!

[los]

whoeva hates on this track is wack, you got to taste for good music, even if u dnt like rap u gots to appreciate the song and the lyrics that are spit by both K West n Hova. im out hatas, duce up

[chromegat]

very nice track. for once a real issue. at least Kanye's put some thought into it. my online playlist mos def will be updated with the mp3 (http://webjay.org/by/chromegat)

jacob will never tell the truth about his diamonds lol. 8 million stories and all of them are lies.

[Prince Of The ROC]

God Damb Kanye Is That Your Track? Whooo Big K keeps on droping Cold shit Thats fucking up al haters and A&R ni99as up. This is an ill as Remix with Hov in it. " Wass Up With You ANd J Mayne Are Yall Ok Mayne? Yup " Fuck Who else kan keep the ROC alive that Kanye. Writing His Own Lyrics and Produces his own Beat ANd Directs his Own Vid What More Can I Say?

[shyne charles]

well niggaz now we know hov is da greatest"how can he falter when he's da roc of jabralter"and kanye keeps keepin it real.thats real concious.fuck all da hataz thats a great song.

[dj mirateck]

i initially didn't vibe to "diamonds" because the beat was so soncially different from his more lighthearted material on the college dropout. the song has grown on me slowly...

i'm completely blown away by the lyrical content of the remix. i'm glad that kanye brought the issue of conflict diamonds into his flow. he did it in such a way that wasn't preachy- something that a lot of "conscious" MCs are often guilty of. too bad he didn't get to change up the lyrics for the video... knowing kanye, he'll make another video just so he can lay down that conscious verse.

i actually have another remix of diamonds that i really like. it starts up with kanye talking about how a girl went up to him about an accident and how he was going to speak at her school... then it breaks into a beat that sounds almost like something 9th wonder would have made... same lyrics though.

[Chris]

Ok. The Kanye Verse isn't in response to Lupe Fiasco's song. You do realize that Kanye produced that song so theres no way that Lupe's could be before Kanye's.
Lupe does not call out Kanye and I dont even understand where anyone got that. He says "props to Kanye" then when he's talking about how you have to know to be a hypocrit he never says anything about Kanye. Also...Lupe is from Chicago and is on Kanye's cd (Late Registration). And on 106 & Park Kanye is talking about Lupe and says that he's one of the nicest rappers right now.
The song originally was about how roc-a-fella is still going, then when Ye was in the studio Q-tip was there, and was telling him about Sierra Leone, so Ye researched it and changed the title from Diamonds to Diamonds from Sierra Leone, then did a remix where he talked about sierra leone more. And as for Lupe's version putting Kanye and Jay to shame... c'mon man. Lupe's was good...real good. But the original is by far the best, then the remix with jay, then conflict diamonds by Lupe.

[Chris]

Also, Talib Kweli was the first to talk about the subject, On "going hard" on the beautiful struggle(released Sept. 04). He says "people ask me how we wearin' diamonds when theres little kids in sierra leone losing arms for crying while they mining".

[shaqspear]

My two favourite emcees, it can't be bad!

www.virtualmag.new.fr

[shugaree]

Kanye has definitely been doing his thing. In an already saturated market of the "Hot in Herre Crunk Fever...." it's refreshing to see an artist bring a new game to the table. Yes, he has faults, and he been called out. I forgot, none of us every did ANYTHING wrong. AND, had the public to know all about it. I'm impressed that he had the balls to comment on the fact that he was called out. It takes a strong person in themselves to be able to do that. And don't act like if in Kanye's postion we wouldn't rock ice. However, with the brought to light, rather resurfaced from the innerworkings of our social self-concious, we can do more research before we make such purchases. I'm not going to go as far as to say Jay is the best rapper. That's a different discussion all together. But he's definitely has impacted the industry greatly. Someome commented this is a great track. It's one for the books!

Holla --- Shugaree

[M.O.]

this dude buys diamonds from Jacob, and he actually believes they aren't blood diamonds? HAHA... the only way that Jacob's diamonds are blood diamonds, is if he selling you phony rocks, like he's done in the past.

[cherryl with 2 R's]

yeah no doubt. the lyrics in the song almost make me wonder if kanye's been surfing the blogosphere with jay...

i posted about kanye and the issue twice in 2004, and in one post i included a link to a photo of a kid with no hands...

*wishful thinking and secretly jealous of that poe dude*

anyway if anybody wants to read the posts they're here:

http://thelastnerve.blogspot.com/2004/10/drop-down-get-your-jesus-on-girl.html

http://thelastnerve.blogspot.com/2004/12/how-many-hands-does-it-take-to-vote-in.html

[law]

pure classic in everyway, from subject to flow, i loved this song

[cherryl with 2 R's]

i think it's dope and the lupe is good too, but not...DOPE dope...nah'mean? like nothing is _that_ dope to me anymore...i'm starting to listen to a lot of old blues.

[power]

hey kanye.....tight one.......i'm an african from ghana and glad to know u are a reseacher... i follow your works ...keep it up.

[clarkey]

kayne is da soul of rap since jays retirn da nigga puts a lil bit of himself into each track cnt wait 2 watch him rise 2 da top fuckin joke hes in da same place as commerical video game stars like dat bitch 50

[yardie]

i like the way jay steps on fat joes toe
'guess who aint gon crack' i was laughin so hard wen i heard that.

caan really play with jay and live to tell about it, unless you're nas

[eddy c]

its not "typical takes a day" it goes "difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week" makes more sense with the rest of the line....

[masimba]

This track is tight if i was Dame I would jump back to the Roc.R.O.C for life.Jay keep shining .

[rory hill]

this is all good, except, iot aint " typical takes a day, impossible takes a week"

it is

"diifcult takes a day, impossible takes a week"

[jazzr]

this is one of kanyes best songs to date. the first thing i noticed when i heard this song is that kanyes lyrics and overall ability as an mc has improved heaps.(i can barely listen to college dropout because over time his raps have not aged well. now i just get annoyed when i hear his verses and he just sounds wack to me.) this is the first time i have heard his vocals justify status as a competent mc. i got a feeling jay-z has been helping him improve his game, if not straight out writing for him(unnoficially). either way its slammin and so is the remix. the jay verse is straight magic. although im kinda glad he is retired cause cats were actually starting to believe he is the best rapper breathing. haha what b.s) i much prefer nas. when kanye gets props as an mc, and people like planet asia are slept on, i have to say kanye is damn overrated. but eitherway if he brings skills like this to match his beats then he might actually warrant some of the hype.

[fdot]

Let's try this on Jay's verse.

Instead of "Typical takes a day, impossible takes a week"

What about

"Difficult takes a day…"

Instead of

The Diamond is forever, I be monumous forever
Now the Louis Vuitton Don is comin', couldn't be better

how about

The Diamond is forever, I been mining(as in diamond mining)this forever
Now the Louis Vuitton Don's timing couldn't be better

I'm sorry for nitpicking but I love this song too much to see Hovie misquoted. It's so ill how Jay can express an idea so vividly, the "had to get off the boat so I could walk on water" line(speaking of the split from Dame and Biggs) is the best in the song. As far as Kanye, the way he set Jay up for his verse was ill, he is at the forefront of producers in the game and the fact that he has the added dimension of an MC just ups his stock. He's like DJ Premiere with a flow(thats of course being said with all due respect to Premo)although not great but definitely improved from earlier Kanyeezee flows. This song to me is definitely a classic, In the tradition of "4 da Fam" and other Roc anthems with the epic movie soundtrack feel to it. from the production(sick) all the way up to the lyrics(Jays hottest flow in a while). I will keep this one in the rotation for a while

[Jeffrey]

Man i think this hot is the hottest shit out right now of kanye west and jay-z. jay-z is not going anywhere. he said "I'm Young Bitches." He has alot to do for the hip hop industry

[stuart]

I think its great that Jay-Z (who is retired) would go out and help my favorite celebrity make this remix

[martin]

this song is inspirational and revealing in its scope. everyone would do well to spin it a few times, but like the great public enemy back in the day some will be offended by the knoweledge spit on the track. like tupac before him kanye will unite the crowds that are seperated by their belief system, money vs honesty peace vs revolution women vs hoes etc...the people who really need to hear things like this will not ...jay z here for commercials sake is a good idea,his rapping voice is catchy his lyrical patterns are familiar that i guess could be a good or bad thing he just might be the king of one liners(wouldnt that make you more like a comedian)witty is nice, but a king of rap could never be allowed to sport such a superficial candence to his style subject matter and delivery....i hope he sees this...you know damn well what you have to do musicaaly for you to achieve your goal you never wanted to be a rapper or an m.c. but thats okay evil is not controversial vanity is no longer controversial... i love mikemike, but you are the jordan of rap in that you never stood for anything- only the most humble white people will ever beleive you are on their level i know and appreciate what you have tried to accomplish in representing da ghetto ...im not even going to try to lecture you...being from where you are from ...use this song as a gateway,dont leave it to mr. west....risk it all.. take us where we need to go in music if you want to be truly remembered tidbits of wisdom are not enough for those who have never known you personally to elevate you to a level beyond one of the princes of rap... represent for the underground..represent for the unknown poets...you need one more album..as lord vader would say, the force is with you young hova, but you are not a jedi... yet luv ya jay keep shinin... i could'nt leave this site with out giving yall some jay -z lines to remember...jigga man is diesel when i lift the 8 up...hes not a sane man hes more like rain man twitchin...we used to play wit building blocks,now we fight for blocks wit buildings that make a killin..... what i look like givin a woman half my trap, like she wrote half my raps,yeah, im havin that,...mike jordan of rap,out side jay workin , now lets see how quickly i drop 50(hidden intro diss to 50 cent)...who u know thats over the hill wit no pen,just flow off inspiration...i wasconceived by gloria carter and agnes reeves who made love undera sycamore tree which makes me,amore sicker mc...faster than the red ghost ,gettin ghost wit the pack,mang, one-time know i goa knack to get that change...ving aint lie i done came up on the block in everything thats fly, im like che'gueverra wit bling on im complex,inever claim to have wings on,nigga i get my, by any means on,this is my second major break-up the first one was with a cake of, cook-pot and a key..THATS JUST TO LET THE SUCKAS KNOW I KNOW MY JAY-Z....if you really want to be revolutionary and scare the ornery uppety,people you claim to have surpassed..equalled, or made fans...be that"voice" over the course of at least half of your last album...before you there was many ..after you there will be...hmmmm..as for kanye.you sound better when you are not screaming(much better) live instruments are lovely...lovin bond right now..

[nitram]

its the kinder side of maritn..be brave mr.carter the world is sodissolusioned we need our poetical leaders to be the conscious of the lives that hopefully one day will not just wonder about but will bravely seek a power higher that themselves...for now you and well-to-do entertainers are that higher power to many youth...first feed them the sweet milk of creativity,with a dash of social responsibility...do not misuse the influence you have been given..hip-hop is the language spoken by those who do not go with the flow..there is a time for every thing...but time is wrapping up.

[stephen]

http://www.nobodysmiling.com/hiphop/interview/84943.php

thus the link to the lupe fiasco interview where he tells all about the conflict diamond situation

[nitram]

thank you stephen i cant beleive as much as i search the inter net for information that there are still sites i have never seen before.....this one looks very interesting..listening to "we major" and the"roses" and waiting for new music this fall before im off to iraq to put my own little gentle touch on the war situation...gonna be goe a year lets see how long i can go without having to use any of the skills they taught me on this ancient race.....c-ya

[Christa]

Kanye West is... GAY !!! He is the stupidest nigger I have ever heard of in my whole life. He goes around whining about how hard black people have it. Even if black people did have it hard, he isn't one of them. He's so full of it && so are all the dumb people that listen to what he has to say.

[Rich]

^^ Idiot

[DEUCE]

WHAT UP PEOPLE DID U CHECK OUT THE WEB SITE WWW.GRINDMODECLIQUE.COM. ITS A NEW HIPHOP GROUP CALL GMC THEY ARE OFF THE HOOK. YOU CAN GO TO THEIR WEB SITE AND GET A FREE CD. THEY ARE THE BEST I HEAR NEXT TO BUB B AND YOUNG JEEZZY U SHOULD CHECK IT OUT

[WILL]

JAY Z IS THE BEST AND NO ONE CAN TAKE THAT AWAY. AND DEUCE U R CRAZY BUT I DID CHECK IT AND I GOT A CD AND IT IS GOOD

[Gball]

The lyrics at the top are wrong so im posten the real lyrics.......
C-mon in not good morning cant u hear

C-mon in this aint vietnam still people lose hands legs arms foreal little is known of siereleone and how they connect to the diamonds we own when i speak of diamonds in this

[Gball]

Christa is gay do u think rappers are rich thier whole life u bring ur white ass in a cave and eat 1 bowl of rice a day and dig for diamonds then u can come holla you dumb prissy b*tch i cant curse u out cause at school but i think your a bust-down wich is something like a prostitute anyone can spit venom on a computer bring your ass too Cabrini and say nigger u must feel guilty for wearing diamonds cause ur all like kanye's stuuupid well u made a cunt of yourself to the whole nation...Holla at Gbeezy

[AJ]

Fuck no. i reken Kanye west is well gud. wat have u dun wit ya life thats so great. dont have a go coz he made it.

[Erick Lopez]

This track is way tooo clean!!.. Jay Z and Kanye two of the best rappers.. talkin about real shit not jus 40 inche tvs hoes and blunts... shits real fam. music is music. if you got your point across and touched some, you did it.

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[DW]

AJ, that is what it's all about, no more no less. every man has the right to contribute a verse...

[Miriam]

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Miriam

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