"Diamonds from Sierra Leone" is a Grammy-winning song by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 rap

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 artist Kanye West

Kanye West

Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...

. It was released on July 4, 2005 as the lead single of his second studio album, Late Registration

Late Registration

Late Registration is the second studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released August 30, 2005, on Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions for the album took place over the course of a year at various recording studios located in New York City and Hollywood...

. The song contains a sample of the theme song for the 1971 James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 film, Diamonds Are Forever

Diamonds Are Forever (film)

Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...

as performed by Shirley Bassey

Shirley Bassey

Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...

. Bassey was reported to be very impressed with Kanye's performance and stated that she wished to work with him in the future. The song peaked at number forty-three on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

, was moderately successful on the iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 music service, and peaked in the eight spot on the UK Top 40. It won a Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 for Best Rap Song

Grammy Award for Best Rap Song

The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song was first awarded in 2004. It is a songwriting award given to all who wrote the lyrics and music of the song. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works released in the previous year...

 at the 48th Grammy Awards.

Background

After gathering research on the plight of children in West African nations who since 1991 having been forced to mine conflict diamonds and die in civil war

Civil war

A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....

s financed by them, West recorded a remix to "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" which featured an additional closing verse by Jay-Z

Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...

 and new verses that detail the situation in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

. He initiates the remix by proclaiming, "Good Morning! This ain't Vietnam Still, people lose hands, legs, arms for real/Little was known of Sierra Leone, and how it connect to the diamonds we own..." The remix was included as the eleventh track within the album, whereas the original version was included as a bonus track

Bonus track

In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. This is most often done as a promotional device, either as an incentive to customers to purchase albums they might otherwise not, or to repurchase albums they already...

. It was originally entitled, "Diamonds Are Forever" but because Jay had a song on The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse called "Diamond Is Forever," Kanye had it changed. An unofficial remix entitled "Conflict Diamonds," which went into even further detail regarding the situation in Sierra Leone, was recorded by Kanye's friend and fellow Chicagoan rapper Lupe Fiasco

Lupe Fiasco

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco , better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco , is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, Lupe is the CEO of 1st and 15th Entertainment. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his critically acclaimed debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food...

. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" remains a crowd favorite and is one of West's most performed songs. It boasts a chorus

Refrain

A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...

 that calls for listeners to "Throw ya diamonds in the sky," referring to the Roc-A-Fella hand sign, which is in the shape of a diamond.

Music video

The music video for "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" was directed by Hype Williams

Hype Williams

Harold "Hype" Williams , previously known as HYPE, is an American music video and film director of African-American and Honduran descent. His nickname "Hype" comes from his hyperactive nature as a child....

 and shot entirely in black-and-white. It was filmed on location in Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, the capital city of the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

. West was fascinated by the architecture found in the capital and felt its sculptures, cathedrals, and stone pavements emitted the timeless feel of "Diamonds."
The video illustrates the topics West would later touch on within the remix of the song, as it features visuals of young African children toiling away in mines under the careful watch of their wardens. The images are juxtaposed with scenes of wealthy Westerners shopping in boutiques and trying on jewelry. The music video ends with text that reads, "Please purchase conflict-free diamonds."

Track listings

Digital download

1. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" – 4:00

US Promo Single

1. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (Clean) – 4:00
2. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (Explicit) – 4:00
3. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (Instrumental) – 4:00
4. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (A cappella) – 3:18

UK Promo Single

1. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (Clean) – 4:00
2. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (Explicit) – 4:00
3. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (Instrumental) – 4:00
4. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (A cappella) – 3:18

UK Maxi Single

1. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone – 4:01
2. "Jesus Walks" – 4:58
3. "The New Workout Plan" (Remix) 4:03

UK CD Single

1. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (Album Version) – 4:00
2. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (Instrumental) – 4:00

German CD Single

1. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (Album Version)
2. "Jesus Walks" (Remix Explicit)

European Maxi-Single

1. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (Album Version) – 4:00
2. "Jesus Walks" (Remix) – 4:58

Personnel

Information taken from Late Registration liner.

• Songwriters: Kanye West, Devon Harris, John Barry, Don Black
• Producers: Kanye West, Jon Brion, Devon Harris
• Recorders: Anthony Kilhoffer & Tom Biller
• Mix engineer: Manny Marroquin
  Manny Marroquin
  Manny Marroquin, born 21 September 1971 in Guatemala, is a Grammy winning mixing engineer. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was nine due to the Guatemalan Civil War....
  
  
• Assistant engineers: Richard Reitz & Jarred Robbins
• Keyboards: Tom Craskey
• Guitars: Dave Tozer
• Drums: Michel Gondry
  Michel Gondry
  Michel Gondry is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director, and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. - Life and career :...
  
  

Chart positions

Chart (2005)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	52
Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....	18
Danish Singles Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl...	9
Dutch Singles Chart	9
European Hot 100	32
Finnish Singles Chart	17
German Singles Chart	67
Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...	19
Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...	16
Swedish Singles Chart	30
Swiss Singles Chart	52
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	8
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	43
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	21
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Tracks Hot Rap Tracks Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single...	11
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...	40
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	24

Release history

Region	Format	Date
North America North America North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...	Digital download, 12"
United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...	Digital download, CD, 12"
Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	CD

External links

• Photos from diamond mines in Sierra Leone