Legendary producer Diamond D recently sat down with Rock The Bells and broke down his early production influences.
The Bronx rapper/producer established himself as one of rap’s best double threats as part of the Diggin’ in the Crates Crew — and his influence on Hip-Hop is wide, touching everyone from Fat Joe and Brand Nubian to The Fugees and Talib Kweli. Listen to his latest album, The Rearview, to get a full reminder from Fat Joe via an impactful interlude about just how influential Diamond D really truly is: "You guys wouldn't've heard of Fat Joe, Big Pun, Remy Ma, DJ Khaled, Scott Storch, Pit Bull, Cool & Dre ..." Joe says in part.
D talked about his early influences when he was first realizing that Hip-Hop was an art form he not only loved and respected, but wanted to contribute to as well.
"My influences on production were Marley Marl, of course, the great—[and] the 45 King," he said. "Jazzy Jay—he's the one who put me on and taught me production; and Prince Paul—those were my heroes. I was a DJ, but I listened to all of their productions. At the time, I didn't own a sampler. But those were the legends I looked up to."
