Mickey Diamond Speaks on Upcoming Projects and Reflects on Career PART 2
WORDS WITH WORD$ INTERVIEW #15
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Yo, it’s the Pope,
Before I got off the line with Mickey Diamond, I wanted to ask him about the difference between Flair and Diamond Dallas, and how Mickey Diamond separates the two.
THIS IS WORDS WITH WORD$
1000WORD$: Yo, I forgot to ask you. So you go by Flair right?
Mickey Diamond: Absolutely.
1000WORD$: And you also go by Diamond Dallas?
Mickey Diamond: Yessir.
1000WORD$: What's the science behind both of them and are there two different chambers?
Mickey Diamond: Yeah, absolutely. So the Diamond Dallas span was just off, you know, my name. But Diamond Dallas Page was always one of my favorite wrestlers, especially the WCW because anybody who know about the Monday Night Wars era of wrestling know that WCW had they superstars over there, and WWF had they over here. You had to flip through the channels, flip back and forth between Nitro and Raw because you might, like there was just n****s that WWF had. And at one point, in my opinion, WCW had got better than WWF for a minute and Diamond Dallas Page was over there kicking ass, so that was like an homage type of thing. And then the Flair just simply came from like my moniker I'm like, you know, I talk my little fly shit, do my little fly shit, how can I-boom boom boom- and then me and my girl put together a tape and I'm like, "We gonna do the 91 Flair shit." And the way that she made the beats you know, and it took so long for the Flair album. I did the Flair album three times. There's three different versions of the very first Flair album. I went through completely different sets of songs, so there's like two Flair albums with different songs that ain't never gonna be put out ever.
1000WORD$: Why?
Mickey Diamond: Just because when I was recording, my girl had just bought me my microphone and all that shit, and I've been making beats forever so I can EQ the shit out of the beats, whatever, but EQ of beats and EQ of vocals is different. And I didn't know what the fuck I was really doing and a lot of my joints was like, now if you go back and listen, they was like muddy and shit like that, you know what I'm saying?
1000WORD$: Different beats?
Mickey Diamond: Â Different beats, different everything. Different songs, the whole shit, you feel me? But the quality of them is bad and I can't put some shit out if I don't feel comfortable with it.
1000WORD$: Why don't you rerecord them now? You don't wanna rerecord them?
Mickey Diamond: Nah, I don't know. When I rewrite verses it has to be for purpose, but my pen too fluid. I can just write some new shit, you get what I'm saying? Especially like when I wrote that shit, the first Flair shit, I started like 2018-19 type shit. 2021-2022 type shit, cause I redid that shit twice type shit. And the real one, the one that came out this year happened because I was in the middle of doing "Imported Goods." And my girl was like, basically like, "motherfucker when we gonna, you keep telling me we gonna do an album. When we gonna drop our shit?" So I'm like, "Look man, make the beats right now," and she made all the beats right there on the spot bro, in like three days. And I wrote to them shits as she was making them, and I wrote the album in probably like a week and a half. And then I recorded it and let it sit for maybe like six months before I started finally mixing it, and put it out. So that's where the Flair shit come from and that's where the Diamond Dallas shit come from.
1000WORD$: Are you going to drop a Diamond Dallas installment?
Mickey Diamond: You know what? I've thought about it. Like so after this Flair tape, I got probably like two more Flair related projects. I know I'm doing a rematch tape, me and [Pro Dillinger] gonna do a rematch "Sting vs. Flair" tape. I'm doing another Flair vs. with somebody else, I ain't gonna say the name yet, but I'm gonna do another Flair vs. with them. And then I'm gonna do one more solo Flair tape and then I'm leaving the rest of them shits alone. Not because I don't love it I just, you don't wanna ride one wave too long without, you feel what I'm saying? If you pay attention to how I set up my series and my installments type shit, it's like, if it's good and I know people fuck with it, and I know we can make it a series, I'm gonna give y'all like two or three projects in between that, you feel me? Enough time for you to fully forget about it. Because what happens is bro, and this is something I pride myself on, a lot of niggas will drop project, after project, after project, after project after project, all different titles, all different album covers, all different names, but all them shits sound the exact same, every one, you feel what I'm saying? You can't tell the difference in this album to this album, you feel me? So I like to capture feels.
1000WORD$: That's why I appreciate listening to your music because, to me, it's different from a lot of shit.
Mickey Diamond: Yeah, well you know that's what happened bro. That's the blessing about being from Detroit and being able to rap good, it's like we can rap on a lot of stuff. Because New York n****s, and Jersey n****s, Philly n****s, n****s from Delaware, all East Coast n****s is cocky bro. You what I mean? They hard to impress. So when n****s like y'all start giving n****s they nods it's more or less of a validation point, you know what I'm saying? You got it, type shit, you feel me?
1000WORD$: Cause I grew up on like Ransom, you know, Cam'ron, I grew up on all that shit.
Mickey Diamond: Me too, me too, bro. Everybody that was somebody in underground rap, or even just rap in general, because a lot of these n****s was underground and we just didn't realize. I remember n****s like Chillz, Ali Vegas, and fucking JoJo Pellegrino.
1000WORD$: I was just with JoJo Pellegrino.
Mickey Diamond: Bro I remember JoJo Pellegrino had Grand Theft Auto 3.
1000WORD$: Yeah, Jo Jo Pellegrino! JoJo Pellegrino dumb nice, bro.
Mickey Diamond: Bro, Jojo was cold as hell bro. It was dope because that was back in the day when you just would get mixtapes. You didn't know necessarily what n****s looked like, and I didn't know that n***a was Italian for a long time.
1000WORD$: I didn't think about it, me too. I just recently found out like five years ago.
Mickey Diamond: Yeah, you feel me? That shit is crazy. But yeah, it's like I've been around when Ransom and Hitchcock, when they was A-Team, when them and Joe Budden was all running around together, and the whole Dipset era, the whole State Prop era, the whole Rockefeller era, both transitions of the Rockefeller era. When it was Jay, Bleek, and Beans together but then they started, you know what I mean, that whole shit bro. The D-Block era, The Bad Boy era, like I've been around all eras of music to fully appreciate them, even the people who went under the radar and didn't make it as big as the radio type shit. I was a Cannabis fan for a long time in my early years Facts. Look what I got right here. You feel me? Yeah, we was just talking about the n***a Killa Sin last night bro. That n***a was so nice bro. I don't understand how that n***a was not, how didn't they make that n***a a main [Wu Tang Clan] member? He was better than real n****s in the Wu. I'm sorry bro, I ain't never heard a Killa Sin verse that was a miss, bro. That n***a verse on anything he ever put out is crazy, my n***a. I wanted that n***a to come home, bro. If that n***a come home bro, I'm gonna throw that n***a a couple g's just off the humble. I swear to God on my soul like, "Bro, just know you had a fan n***a. I fucks with you bro."
1000WORD$: Free Killa Sin.
Mickey Diamond: That's some raw ass shit, bro. Raw ass n***a bro, raw talent. N***a just can't stop fucking around, you feel me? You too raw.
1000WORD$: He was in the mix.
Mickey Diamond: He was in the streets. I respect it but imagine where n****s like Killa Sin would be right now in the underground and he could still be rapping.
1000WORD$: What if he came out right now?
Mickey Diamond: That's what I'm saying. If Ransom could come back. You know the comeback Ransom hat? N***a Sin would be tearing shit up on the underground. And it feel weird, it's like "Damn, why is n****s waiting till now to do it?" I guess because now's the time, but you ain't even see J-Hood, you feel me? He back in the underground rapping again and shit.
1000WORD$: I haven't heard any new J-Hood shit. Is it good? He just dropped some shit. He dropped some new shit not too long ago. He back rapping and shit again. He just did a song with Big Twin. Oh, fire. Shout out to my bro, Big Twin.
Mickey Diamond: You know how shit go, man. It's like rap n****s just can't stay away, bro. That shit is ike jewelry. N***a say he gonna start rapping bro, but it's dangerous. If you a really rapper for real bro, not even if you was a rapper, musician, artist, any kind. You might say you ain't never taking another picture again, in five years you find yourself somewhere in the store, see a little Kodak camera, have a little flashback, you feel me?
1000WORD$: Haha, yeah. I think I'mma always want to take pictures for the rest of my life, that's all I want to do. I just want to chill, smoke weed, and just-
Mickey Diamond: My aim is to get myself financially straight enough to do music at my leisure. See because, even when rapping, and I'm making decent coin, but it's a job. You get what I'm saying? It's a job, but you constantly gotta be [working], especially when you got the fire, when n****s is looking for you, you get what I'm saying? N****s looking at you hot, you dropping your new shit, everybody attention spans short, XYZ. You constantly gotta be thinking and writing, and like I don't get to enjoy shit. Like this little [girl] screaming my name, you know what I'm saying? So it's like, that's what a lot of the work has provided now. And that's still my aim, you know, keep getting money to make sure that I ain't gotta really necessarily do shit. Cause after this year, I'm only dropping probably like two albums a year, you feeI me? It's not like a "I'll prove it" type shit. Everything got a life force, you get what I'm saying? I've listened to rappers who have been dope for a long time, and don't necessarily say the same shit no matter how many songs they have. And I want to make sure that I'm able to stay in that bracket. I don't want to become the n***a over fucking three years if you hear me like, "This n***a saying the same shit over and over. This song sound like this song, this beats sound like this beat, this verse sound like that verse. So especially on time like now, you know, if I can continue to keep my shit going up, I'll just be able to press more copies of my vinyl, and drop less projects, and make equal to the same amount of pay.
1000WORD$: Facts. And you get to spend more time doing other shit too.
Mickey Diamond: That, but music is my love bro. That's what I do in my free time bro. Eat, and then like when I'm busy, I'm playing video games, taking care of my kids and shit, you know what I'm saying? That's my passion. Bro, I wake up n***a and the first thing I do is think about some music, or something music related type shit. I already make good projects. I feel like I make good project where I put together the concept. Now how would that look if I just took 8-9 months to work on one project? How would that translate then?
1000WORD$: That could just mean that you just going place to place, getting inspiration, just chilling. You working at your own pace.
Mickey Diamond: I just feel like if I took eight months to work on one project I'd have have a flawless album. I don't think there would be one person in the world to be able to say there's something on that project that they don't like. Cause the way I work, that's the fly shit bro. I have fucking 100 songs, like n***a we gonna pick a fire 12 n***a. We gonna have a fucking hit album, bro. I promise you.
1000WORD$: Yeah, I hope you drop a Diamond Dallas installment. That'd be dope.
Mickey Diamond: I would love to bro. I probably will, eventually my n***a. Just to like put it out there, you know what I mean? Just like "Fuck it. Here, have it." That's funny that you say that bro, because the "Bulletproof Bathrobes" project came about because I did a song called "Bulletproof Wallets." It was the last song on the Flair tape, and a n***a hit me and was like, "Damn, bro. That's such a dope name. I hope that becomes a series or something." And I already had a song before that, like two years ago, that Snotty produced that I never put out. So that fan saying that made me like, "You know what?" And I started putting together the concept behind that shit and that's how that came about. But you never know what somebody could bring, you know? I might not have been thinking about a Diamond Dallas project, but now the wheels might be turning a little bit.
1000WORD$: Yo, I want to talk about that off the record and shit. I wanna see if we could do something about. But yeah man, Mickey, I appreciate you. Thank you, my bro
Mickey Diamond: Thank you, bro.
$$$. READ PART 1 OF THIS INTERVIEW