Mickey Diamond Speaks on Upcoming Projects and Reflects on Career PART 1
WORDS WITH WORD$ INTERVIEW #15
A MESSAGE FROM MICKEY DIAMOND
“All I Do” by Mickey Diamond:
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$$$. THE AUDIO TO THIS INTERVIEW: PART 1 & PART 2
Yo, it’s the Pope, 1000WORD$.
My bro Mickey Diamond is a seasoned rapper hailing from Detroit that has been feeding the underground Hip-Hop scene with his gritty storytelling and versatile flow. His lyrics paint vivid pictures of life growing up in his hometown.
In his early musical journey, Mickey Diamond drew inspiration from a wide range of artists, from underground legends like Ransom, Cam'ron, and JoJo Pellegrino to iconic groups like Dipset and D-Block. Today, he continues to channel that inspiration, blending it with his own distinct style and Detroit sound.
With several Flair projects in the tuck, as well as more producer collaborations in the works, I hit up Mickey Diamond to talk about these upcoming releases, his creative process, and the evolution of his sound throughout his career.
THIS IS WORDS WITH WORD$
1000WORD$: Yo, I'm 1000WORD$. This is WORDS WITH WORD$. I'm here with my brother Mickey Diamond. Let the people know where you from, my brother.
Mickey Diamond: Detroit, Michigan. Westside representative, been here half my life. I'm from everywhere.
1000WORD$: I first want to say man you're one of the new artists that I listen to constantly. I genuinely try to put as many people on to your music as I can because, you know, I like that grimey shit. I feel like you deliver on all aspects of that you talk fly shit, you talk your grimey, so to me that's a win-win. I could listen to you all the time. My first question is, what keeps you inspired?
Mickey Diamond: So in early stages, it was just rapping out of a respect thing. I knew I was nice. I don't like losing, you feel me. I don't have to be the best in the room, but if n****s get to pickin out the best, I want to be standing alongside the best. So, it was a mutual respect thing. And I had my mind made up that I was gonna be successful a long time ago. But, a lot of these platforms and shit that we got now wasn't available then, so a n***a had to take the long route, you feel me? That was my early stages of motivation, and inspiration. And then when the shit kind of started to fizzle out, I kinda got on some shit like... I gotta hurry up and at least try before it's too late, I'm getting older. And then bro, when the pandemic hit, me and my n***a Cise Greeny, me and that n***a tapped in, bro. And literally every day, bro, we made beats, bro. We write songs on FaceTime. He in Queens, I'm in Detroit, but we on FaceTime every day. We just was telling each other like, "Yo next year, next year, this that and the third." And so that's what kept me going and now that I'm in it my inspiration is simply... I've watched rap do something for me that no job that I've ever worked, ever could, and taking me places that no job ever would. And it's allowing me to purchase things that you'd have to save up working a job for years to buy. And so now that I've created a sense of a new life for not only myself and my girl, my kids, you get what I'm saying? There ain't shit that they can’t get. Right now, I bought a PlayStation 5 bro, probably like three, four weeks ago, that shit still in the box under my bed I didn't bust it open yet because I'm so consumed with music, but you get what I'm saying? I can remember a time where it was like, I was so fucked up that if you would give me the PS5 I woulda stopped everything, so I can jump on the game. It just lets you know how a n***a grown. This shit right here I'm doing I don't want to ever not. A lot of niggas get the light bro and then they get consumed with the fact that they got the light and they let the light consume them. They start getting lazy, start getting remedial, they stop trying hard. They start feeding you the same shit over and over. Cause artists don't realize that fans and the people that's with you, they grow with you. So when you're young and you in your 20s talking all that, "Rah rah rah rah rah," but now we're in our 30s, You talkin that "Rah rah rah" shit. You're fans are like, "I'm 36. I got two kids." They ain't on that type of time anymore, so now they listening to somebody else that's more in their lane. So it's like you got to know when to hold them and fold them in that sense of staying fresh and never losing that drive to get... Like right now, I'm at 5000 followers. But I remember in a blink of an eye when I was at like 847 something followers, you get what I'm saying? And so if I can get to five I can get to 10. If I can get to 10, I can get to 50. So that's my motivation to keep growing and that's what I aim to do. I'm not looking to impress the 5000 people that already follow me. I'm looking to impress the new 5000. I'm always looking to impress new people who never heard of me.
1000WORD$: You got quite an impressive catalogue. You move as a person, for me looking into the game, I feel like you move like a person that doesn't have 5000 followers, but has more and the difference is you probably have 5000... maybe half of those people are actually real.
Mickey Diamond: The whole thing is... the crazy thing about it is I would say out of my followers, I can guarantee you at least 4700 of them are actual for sure people.
1000WORD$: What I mean is like this... because I have eighteen thousand right. I feel like 200 or 300 actually fuck with it and the others are just watching.
Mickey Diamond: Just to trying to see what you do.
1000WORD$: I know who the regular people are that fuck with me heavy and it's not all eighteen thousand of them, you feel me?
Mickey Diamond: People do fuck with you because look at what you do and look at the places it's taking you, like you at home right now?
1000WORD$: Yeah.
Mickey Diamond: Finally, n***a, you feel me? Like think about how long... since I met you and started following you bro, you been on the road you been on go. You feel what I'm saying? Look at the places it's taking, look at the people y'all be around, bro you n***s is underground celebrities, bro.
1000WORD$: I want to be like Def Jam and sign all you motherfuckers man.
Mickey Diamond: You know bro, the beauty of it all is that we all helpin each other go places, bro. You need n****s like us because even to be able to cover the hot n****s of what's going on, everybody had they time and they fizzle out. But what you're tapping in with the n****s from now who finna be next after after they out the way you feel me, that's gonna keep you relevant for a long time to open up more doors, so you gonna be able to... you know what's better than signing a n***a is... I do this a lot with n****s, I get a lot of n****s in certain situation with the vinyl and shit. Better than signing a n***a is knowing that you got the power to make a n***a who wouldn't normally listen or fuck with this n***a, listen to this n***a and possibly get an opportunity just on the strength of he fuck with you, whether shit do good or not, he can gone get dog a shot. When dog's application really at the bottom of the pile, he gonna pull it up from the bottom because you said so and get him a good look. You get what I'm saying? And sometimes that's all a n***a need, you get what I'm saying? Like Alchemist never signed Boldy James, but the fact that he did the tape with him all those years ago. Boldy's been eating off that everyday.
1000WORD$: Shoutout to Boldy, man. Speedy recovery.
Mickey Diamond: He's already back good and everything.
1000WORD$: Okay, I've been asking man. I don't really know anyone who know him like that.
Mickey Diamond: I talk to a couple of people who talk to him. I don't really know the man personally, but him and my good friend are childhood friends, but from what I hear he back. So shoutout to Boldy.
1000WORD$: From your first vinyl release, to your recent vinyl release, I have seen you repackage your shit every time it just gets better and better, bro. How do you tap into that level of art?
Mickey Diamond: In my personal opinion, I'm just an artsy type of n***a not in the sense of like, go to art galleries, but I just always been... I used to draw, all kinds of shit. People confuse like, a n***a who can paint... just because they can paint don't mean he an artist. But art is the ability to create something that others can admire out of thin air. So what you do with your portraits is art, you are a street artist, you get what I'm saying? You can take a regular ass Polaroid camera that anybody could go buy, but everybody Polaroid camera ain't gonna take they ass places and shit. That's how I look at a lot of that shit when it comes to just abilities and skill sets and talents. You got to know what you do and hone in on that shit make it special, keep it special. And don't ever... other people's opinions are very important in the process of doing art. Now I don't get other people's opinions when doing art, but the way I do get a lot of my art is, I don't tell the artists that I work with what to do, you get what I'm saying? So, nine times out of ten if... Say I want you to do my cover art, I'm gonna hit you, you ain't gonna hear none of the music. And I'm just gonna tell you the name of the project, and you gone say "What you want me to do?" And I'm gonna say, "Whatever, comes to mind." But here's the thing, while I'm hitting you, I'm hitting three other artists and telling them the same thing. If all your shit click, I'm gonna figure out a way to use all yours. If one clicking way harder, than the other three I'm just gonna use bro shit. And I might use your shit as the alternate or... But, I make sure that I cover all bases when it comes to that shit, because the music is important, but the packaging is more important because people. It's like a pretty bitch with a bad attitude. You overlook certain things about her because she finer than a motherfucker, you get what I'm saying? So that's how you got to look at this, you have to treat your art, your art got to be the pretty bitch. That way if your album ain't necessarily... If your album is good, and the art is good, you got a pretty bitch with a good attitude and you got a winner. So that's how I try to treat the art. I treat it equally to the music. Sometimes it's more important than the music because I know as a fan growing up, I liked to listen to albums and just stare at the art and if they shit match, it's just like... It's satisfying. It took you to a place mentally, for 30 to 40 minutes.
1000WORD$: Took you to a little paradise.
Mickey Diamond: From reality real quick. Or through reality sometimes, depending on what you're listening to so...
1000WORD$: You grew up watching the Ninja Turtles?
Mickey Diamond: Hell yeah. I remember going to the movies. I got a cousin named Maurice and his mom is my older cousin. And he took us to go see Ninja Turtles 2, when that shit first came out on a Friday night. And my cousin had to be maybe like five or some shit like that. But, he was only in the movie for like 15 minutes in the middle seat. He thought one of the Ninja Turtles was coming to kill him and started crying, we had to leave. I was mad, bro. I remember being a kid I was mad than a motherfucker dog. I was one of them, Ninja Turtle gang. Let me show you this real quick...
1000WORD$: Who was your favorite?
Mickey Diamond: Leonardo because I like Leo type n***s, that's what I was born to be like. Look at this, it's the whole Ninja Turtles collection. Like the game, they got all types of arcade games on there and shit.
1000WORD$: Oh, that's fire.
Mickey Diamond: That's the type of shit I'm into though like... sometimes you gotta take a break, bro.
1000WORD$: What is Oroku Saki?
Mickey Diamond: Me and Ral Duke when we were chopping it, we ain't really had no like, history or no shit like that. We just came up with an idea that we were gonna do a project and I needed something to fill in the space. So like this project started off as like just like a scrap idea at first, you know? And then meeting it was talking and he was like, "Yo, what's one of your favorite projects" and we both said, Madvillainy. And so I'm like... we get to chopping it up or whatever and talking about turtles because Shredder's Revenge game was going to come out and then somehow we both agreed that shit would be an ill ass flip if we made the villain like... Who's the masked villain aside from Dr. Doom, I'm like, "The Shreder is. And the flip is, we gone make him Black.
1000WORD$: Black Shredder.
Mickey Diamond: And then you know, he made the beats. His beats that's what it was his beat kind of was... his production was different compared to anything else I've ever rapped on. All my other shit is like grimey and punchy drums, soul samples or whatever. And his shit was like real, NPG, SP-404 shit it felt like it was an opportunity to show my dexterity so to speak because I can do something else, that's not a Shoot 'em up. Bang bang. Let's get money, fuck bitches album. It's more for your nerdy n****s, you feel me and I'm hoping that somehow I can get it into this... I'm talking to somebody right now they got a new Ninja Turtle movie gonna come out in September and it was directed by Seth Rogen so I'm trying to see if I can sneak one of the joints in on. Hopefully.
1000WORD$: Let's hope that happens, throw that in the air. Let us know what we gotta do.
Mickey Diamond: It'd be fire. It's this n***a named Steve Brown that followed me and he sent me a picture that I posted last year, but the guy sent me a picture one day, it's him standing next to Ric Flair holding "Flair for the Gold" and he got "Flair for the Gold" and "Sting vs. Flair," both vinyl signed by Ric Flair.
1000WORD$: Legendary.
Mickey Diamond: I'm like, "let me buy it." He ain't even respond to me. Shoutout to Steve Brown, bro. He got the original variant signed by Ric Flair that shit is so hard.
1000WORD$: That's part of history, bro. How you think Flair felt signing that?
Mickey Diamond: I'm trying to meet the n***a so I can show him and say I'm the one who made that shit. Flair that n***a, bro. I got a new... because you know my wife did all the beats for the original Flair tape and shit. But, I got a new Flair tape dropping in May it's called "Nobody Bleed Like Flair" and she did all the beats again bro. It's a follow up.
1000WORD$: What do you need in the studio to tap in as Flair?
Mickey Diamond: So the whole the whole thing with the Flair series is that's my opportunity... I look at each album as an opportunity to capture a specific moment in time or ideology so to speak or a certain emotion. When I do the Flair shit, it allows me to... I flip, if okay you think fly, flashy, but I also use it in the sense of Ric Flair talked a lot about being number one and remaining the best and X, Y and Z and so it's more or less a flip on the message behind it like that's how I feel a lot of times like I'm the fly n***a, I'm flashy. If you want to have a money fight let's do it, but at the same time you want to talk the real shit let's talk it. I'm number one I'm the best. Sometimes you just feel so good that you like... he do, because you know who you are that self awareness type shit bro and so that's my Flair shit, that's where that shit come from. Anytime you hear Flair tape or Sting vs. Flair, you know we're gonna talk some shit. It's to celebrate the fact that you know, I know a lot of people like to think that wrestling was invented in 2019-2020 with the fucking Griselda wave and no disrespect for them keeping it alive because again, before them doing it was Action Bronson and Meyhem Lauren doing the wrestling shit, but before them it was Ghostface. Wrestling is apart... we all grew up on that shit. 1000WORD$: But if you look at like this, right, Conway and Westside Gunn did it like the NWO. They did it like Hall and Nash. Came through and fucked it up.
Mickey Diamond: Yeah they did it like NWO. They just tag team period.
1000WORD$: It's the best tag team, bro.
Mickey Diamond: I give them n****s all they flowers, bro. They definitely made the lane bro n****s like me and a lot of other n****s would not exist right now, if it wasn't for them opening that platform. And it's tough to say that bro because in reality the n***a who really been keeping this lane alive and opened up the lane for them and he's still around today is Roc Marci, bro. Him, Willie the Kid and Action Bronson in the early 2010s, re-sparked this whole shit up. Boldy was in there in the midst too, but really it was Willie and Roc Marci. They like Godfathers to this underground shit, bro.
1000WORD$: But you know all those brothers made an impact bro and I love all those brothers equally.
Mickey Diamond: They legends. Everyone that we just said is a legend.
1000WORD$: What is your favorite Flair badge?
Mickey Diamond: Probably the '92 Royal Rumble title. He was all bloody and shit. He was talking crazy as hell. He had all the blood on his face and shit, bro. That's one of my favorite. I actually took a clip from that and it's on the new one, the n***a Mr. Purple was like, "We hate to be the kind of guy that say we told you so, but we told you so." Sometimes you'll be around people that support you, but they don't believe, you get what I'm saying? And they will just be around because they believe, but they're not going the extra yard like it's not fully emerging and shit is the difference between a n***a supporting you and believing in you. It don't take shit for me to like your shit, repost and share. But if I say, "1000, I see you doing your thing, bro. I'm gonna hit you with five Gs bro, go buy you a new camera." You know what I'm saying? That's believing. And if I get a return on it, I get a return if I don't, I don't. But I'm just doing it because I see you grinding and I want to see you get to where this might help you.
1000WORD$: Throughout this journey, I've met a few people like that.
Mickey Diamond: I have too. And that's what I'm saying. You know when a motherfucker believe in you versus just supporting your shit. Again, it's free to like someone and you gotta see that's how a lot of n****s get on that simple word of mouth traveling will put money in your pocket.
1000WORD$: Now that you're making a living off your music, right? What are some of the things that like, let's say for example, your bills are paid you good, chilling, wife good, your kids is good. Like, what are you going to buy yourself? What do you search for? What do you like to collect?
Mickey Diamond: So, as of late, bro, I like to collect, real shit, I like to collect money now. So check me out, I've never had a problem with money. I had a baby early as hell, like my daughter is gonna be 20. But my daughter gonna be 20 and I've been rapping literally just as long as she's been alive. I was 17 when I had her, but when you realize that, you know, I've been a robbing- Peter-to-pay-Paul ass n***a all my adult life so to speak, like you got it, but you don't got it. When you gotta make split decisions or sacrifice decisions or spend some money and you know you shouldn't, but you still did so you could have a good time tonight and that shit gonna affect you all next week. Sometimes one good night, can throw the whole rest of fucking year off.
1000WORD$: Facts.
Mickey Diamond: Now that I'm at the age where I'm at, bro, as long as you have the money to buy whatever it is you like... It's always gonna be there, the shit that you think that, "Oh, I gotta have I gotta have this." It's gonna always be there. The new car... Like you get the new 2023 and in six to eight months, they will be dropping the 2024 version of your new 2023, you get what I'm saying? So I like to collect money now that way, when the time comes and I see the cool shit that I want I just buy it. You're not checking account, you're not second guessing if the shit don't go through when it's time to pay and that's my new thing because opportunities like this was going on with me as far as the consistency of my selling out and the prices of my vinyl being astronomically high. I know it's not gonna last that, I'm always gonna be good with the music, I will always be able to eat and make a dollar off music, but everybody hyped, even though it will continuously grow what I'm saying is eventually, you get what I'm saying, I'm just mentally preparing for the day when the bottom drops out. And I wake up on a Tuesday and nobody in the world is fucking with Mickey Diamond no more and I said, "Well shit I got like 1.2 out this bitch. If I could pull 1.2 up from the underground, I can open whatever I want. Because people that's what people forget about you bro is that you know money is unfortunately, when you do life and you do the equation you put the equal sign into life. Life equals money. So you go out in the streets, your man he sell work, he got 40 Gs, right? You go do some camera shit, and you make 40 Gs. And this n***a is... he work at a plant or some shit, a factory or some shit and he make 40 Gs. All y'all got the money and all ya'll had to work to get it even though you just taking picture. He doing the real work X Y and Z, nobody is better than anybody because at the end of the day you're all doing what it is you have to do to get the money, so that the doctor who went to school so he could make 90 Gs a year is no more... he's no better than the n***a who did 90 Gs a year off rap, what's the difference because at the end of the day you know how to save a life, but that shit equaled out to 90 Gs just like me being able to do this over here equals out to 90 Gs. Five pounds in bricks the same thing as find pounds in metal. When you start looking at life like that, bro you start realizing you know one thing that you need at all times no matter where you go if you want to do something if shit come up you need bread. Everything else fall under that umbrella bro. N****s be out here fucking off money and not using they money to make money. Like I don't buy shit no more that I can't sell. I'm not buying it for the intent. I'm buying the shit because I've had to buy shit and sell it and now I don't, but you get what I'm saying that's the motivation. I'm buying some shit. And I'm not about to have to sell it and even if times do get hard I'm not gonna sell it. I'll just hit the lab and make some more money.
1000WORD$: I was gonna say, you wouldn't buy a Ric Flair robe?
Mickey Diamond: Oh, you know what, bro? I'm thinking about it, but probably not because I'm about to shoot a video for one of these joints on this Flair tape called "Horse and Chariot" and I'd rather buy a Versace robe. It's gonna represent the same shit because again, you know, there's a fine line between being creative and being corny. There's some shit I would never do. Because I know for a fact it's not gonna work for me. You get what I'm saying?
1000WORD$: Yo, you wear Pelle Pelles, right?
Mickey Diamond: Of course.
1000WORD$: When was your first time buying your Pelle Pelle?
Mickey Diamond: As a teenager, late teens too.
1000WORD$: Pelle started out there, right?
Mickey Diamond: Hell yeah. Them shits is expensive, bro. It's another company out here called Al Wissam. You either had a Al Wissam or you had a Pelle Pelle.
1000WORD$: I remember the Al Wissams. They had like the money bill joints, right? Or they had the big W on the back, right?
Mickey Diamond: Yup, yup. Big W on the back.
1000WORD$: Yo I wore my Pelle Pelle and walked through Harvard and shit, bro. I was walking through Harvard in my Pelle.
Mickey Diamond: That shit felt crazy didn't it?
1000WORD$: Yo man, I cried the next morning bro.
Mickey Diamond: That's beautiful, my n***a. Mind you, you a photographer, but in the same sense you a rapper. Look at the places [you've been]. This is some times where you have to humble yourself, but I saw the picture in the panel with Starker, and Rome, and all them n****s, I feel like I should've been there, you feel me? But that's where you gotta humble yourself cause they've been doing this shit for a while. Regardless of how long we've been rapping before n****s start taking notice, I don't feel like your career start until people start knowing your name. I don't care how long you been rapping. You get what I'm saying? They've been doing this shit for a while. It's a respect. I'm gonna get there too, you feel me?
1000WORD$: Yeah, the homie Ryan, shout out to Ryan. You know for people that don't know, he also interviewed Mickey Diamond and shit. The whole objective was to execute this to allow us to do more. So you don't know bro, it's never too late.
Mickey Diamond: Like I said bro, that's just a competitive rap thing.
1000WORD$: And I appreciate that because a lot of dudes will not tell me that. They'll just assume that it's, you know? But I came up with a lot of brothers and I've had several relationships, like I went to Detroit to kick it with you.
Mickey Diamond: You ain't gotta tell me, n***a I know. We went and ate burgers, you remember? It was me, you, and Vegas, we was high as fuck, it was fun as hell. I don't know why that simple moment was so memorable bro. The weather was good, n***a we was just chilling outside Yeah, everything was gucci. That was a cool last night. That's when I knew, that whole day. Remember the next day, we linked up, I was feeling good and shit. And it's crazy [the picture from that day is] what [Kipdafog] just painted a mural of. And when I saw the Kip mural, I'm like...you feel me? Like man come on, dog.
1000WORD$: Kip put me onto you, bro.
Mickey Diamond: Kip a good n***a, bro.
1000WORD$: Kip was like this. He told me like, "Yo, I think you should check this dude out." At first I was like, "I don't know, man. I'm good." And then he was like, "No, for sure bro. You should bro, you should." So you know, I'm in the crib and I heard the music and I was like, "Yo, who the fuck is this?" You know what I'm saying? And then I was listening to all them other shits and then I'm like, "Oh nah, I gotta meet this motherfucker, son. I gotta meet him."
Mickey Diamond: I appreciate it, bro. I felt like it was dope because when you reached out to me, like you had already been doing your thing for a minute, but I feel like I met you right when your hot streak [started]. Like remember that one season where KD fucking, you feel me? I feel like that's when I met you. Like, damn. Right after that, you started doing pornstar shoots I'm like "Look at these n****s. They with Chris Brown and shit. Look baby, I was just with these n****s. These n****s outside now." It's dope, bro. It's dope to see, my nigga. That's why I constantly give you your flowers bro, give Vegas his flowers. I just hit Vegas the other day and told that n***a like, "Bro, you should do a project bro. I keep seeing all these people you with too, you feel me? You need another project and he needs another project too, bro." That shit would be fire my n***a.
1000WORD$: Vegas wanna rap.
Mickey Diamond: That first Outside project, it was called "1000Words," right?
1000WORD$: Yeah.
Mickey Diamond: I wasn't shaken, you feel me? But I remember seeing that, and seeing that list, and I'm like, "Damn bro, I'm gonna start getting on these sets top one day."
1000WORD$: I'm already working on my second joint. I'm definitely gonna send you one if you still down.
Mickey Diamond: I definitely need a 1000 project.
1000WORD$: Yeah, what you got coming out next?
Mickey Diamond: So I got a lot of projects out this year, but the next shit I got coming out is gonna be with me and Mallori Knox, the "Nobody Bleeds Like Flair project," the sequel to the "Flair 4 The Gold. Then right now, actually when I got off the phone with you, I'm finna start, I got a project with Camouflage Monk, and I got one with SADHUGOLD. I'm finna start them shits today. Later on this year, I'm doing a sequel to the "Bulletproof Bathrobes" album with Machacha. That's gonna be way later this year. Somewhere in the middle or towards the end of the year, I'm doing "Bangkok Dangerous 4."
1000WORD$: Okay, fire.
Mickey Diamond: Yeah, yeah. It's time to bring it back, you feel me? So that's my lineup this year, that's where I'm going with it.
1000WORD$: I appreciate you, my brother. It's been a dope ass conversation, bro.
Mickey Diamond: Always, bro.
$$$. READ PART 2 OF THIS INTERVIEW