Sid Diamond

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Sid Diamond
Diamond in Dunedin, Otago in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Sidney Diamond
Also known as	Sid Diamond, Young Sid
Born	(1986-07-07) 7 July 1986 (age 38) Auckland, New Zealand
Genres	Trip hop, New Zealand hip hop
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Move The Crowd Records
Website	http://www.movethecrowd.co.nz/

Sidney Diamond (born 7 July 1986), previously known by the stage name Young Sid, is a New Zealand rapper.

Sid Diamond was born in South Auckland, New Zealand and later moved to Manukau City, Auckland.^{[citation needed]} He is of Cook Island and Māori descent, and was raised in the Manukau suburb of Ōtara.^[1] Diamond's father, Vincent George, was the president of a gang called the Tribesmen,^[2] and his mother, Victoria, was an alcoholic^[2] who died of lung cancer in 2009.^[3] His older brother, Karlos, who is currently imprisoned, was an aspiring rapper under the name Mr Sicc, and a member of an Ōtara gang called Bad Troublesome Ward.^[2] At a young age, Diamond was arrested twice for fighting, and carried weapons such as a knife and an axe, but said in a 2009 interview that Karlos worked to prevent him from getting involved with gangs.^[2]

Sid first became attracted to American hip hop after listening to Karlos' copy of the 1988 N.W.A single "Gangsta Gangsta."^[4] He recorded his first song at the age of eleven, and was part of a short-lived group called The Murder Squad.^[4][2]

Diamond formed hip-hop trio Smashproof in 2005 with members Tyree and Deach, and they signed a contract with Move The Crowd Records (a subsidiary of Universal) during his first semester of university; he dropped out shortly thereafter in order to pursue his music career full-time.^[2] His solo debut, The Truth, was released on Move The Crowd in 2007, and featured a guest appearance by Chamillionaire. He spent three weeks in New York recording the tracks,^[5] many of which were produced in Croatia, France, and Auckland.^[1] The album would then go on to debut at No. 27 in its lone week on the RIANZ top-40 album charts on 10 September,^[6] and won Urban Album of the Year honors at the 2008 Māori Music Awards.^[7] However, he came under controversy in February 2008 when he appeared in a music video for the track "Put Your Colourz On", which featured South Auckland street gang members.^[8][2]

His first album with Smashproof, titled The Weekend, was released in March 2009. The featured single, "Brother," broke a 23-year-old record for the longest consecutive run at number one by a New Zealand-based act on the country's singles chart.^[9] Sid was the opening act for Ice Cube's Straight Outta Compton Tour concert in Manukau City on 22 August 2007.^[10]

In 2010, Diamond released his second album, What Doesn't Kill Me..., which charted for eight weeks and won him his second Urban Album of the Year at the Māori Music Awards.^[11]

• Sid Diamond at AllMusic
• Official MySpace page
• Music videos
• Amplifier.co.nz