Stunts, Blunts & Hip-Hop may be the most lauded album on this list -- it's often called one of the 100 best rap LPs of all-time. But as hip-hop's golden age nestles in, a select few producers -- Pete Rock, Dr. Dre, Marley Marl -- are name-checked as the architects of an era. Bronx-born Diamond D is not one of those names. If anything, Diamond, who is still actively producing, has been forgotten. It's a shame: His debut is almost clinical in its precision. Crisp sample sit atop evocative melodies ("Best Kept Secret") and workmanlike rhymes juxtapose slippery hooks ("Sally Got A One Track Mind") to power an album rare now than ever. A producer's playpen. - Vibe Magazine (August, 2008). For context, the list they are referencing is Vibe's 24 "Lost Rap Classics." I don't necessarily agree that Diamond D was ever forgotten, nor that this album was "lost," but I do see their argument and the point they were ultimately attempting to make and that was the fact that Stunts, Blunts & Hip-Hop deserves more shine and I'm here for that (obviously). I've argued for Stunts as the best solo album in the whole D.I.T.C. crew's catalog. Dig in the archives for that and more!
Vibe Magazine's '08 album review of Diamond D's Stunts, Blunts & Hip-Hop...
