Jump to content
Celebrity Gossip & Lifestyle Magazine

Kanye West - Late Registration

30 November -0001

Rate this article

0Comments | Comment on this Article

A MERCURY RECORDS/ROC-A-FELLA RELEASE

Kanye West returns with an epic new video for the single
'DIAMONDS FROM SIERRA LEONE'
Release date: 4th July 2005

The highly anticipated new album
'LATE REGISTRATION'
is released on August 29th

August 29th marks the release of 'Late Registration' the hugely anticipated second album from Kanye West, the 28 year old Grammy winner recently named Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. "Diamonds From Sierra Leone," the stunning first single from 'Late Registration' is set for release on July 4th. The Hype Williams directed video is premiered on MTV this week. "Diamonds From Sierre Leone" is signature Kanye West: Over a heavy groove and sped-up soul sample, courtesy of Shirley Bassey's classic "Diamonds Are Forever," Kanye's unusual, conversational flow sounds sharper than ever, weaving his offbeat witticisms into a love-letter for The R.O.C. The new remix featuring Jay-Z has already received plays on Radio One, where the single currently sits on the B list.

An artist known for his groundbreaking videos – "All Falls Down" was the most-played video on MTV last year and "Jesus Walks" prompted three videos to complete his vision – Kanye has branched out this year to become a video director, helming critically acclaimed clips from John Legend ("Ordinary People") and Common ("The Corner" and "Go"). Now, Kanye steps back out in front of the camera with the incredible new Hype Williams-directed video for "Diamonds From Sierra Leone"

Like "Jesus Walks," with it's imagery of abusive prison chain gangs and Klansmen burning crosses, "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" once again finds Kanye tackling difficult subject matter. Shot over a three-day period in Prague, the haunting black-and-white clip juxtaposes the iconic old-world glamour of a DeBeers diamond commercial with the brutal "blood-diamond" trade of Sierra Leone, which has claimed the lives of millions of Africans.

"When I first played the song for Q-Tip, he brought up the blood-diamonds. He started informing me," explains Kanye. "The very first thing I did was change the title of the song. From that point on, I wanted to do whatever I could to learn more and educate people about the problem. We came with the concept for the video and, of course, I couldn't wait for the opportunity to rap on the subject."

And on the new "Diamonds" remix featuring Jay-Z, Kanye gets the chance to do just that: "See a part of me's sayin' keep shinin'. How, when I know what a blood diamond is?/ Though it's thousands of miles away, Sierra Leone connect to what we go through today/ Over here it's the drug trade, we die from drugs. Over there, they die from what we buy from drugs/ The Diamonds. The chains, the bracelets, the charms is/ I thought my Jesus piece was so harmless, till I seen a picture of a shorty armless, and here's the conflict/ It's in the black person's soul, to rock that gold. Spend your whole life tryin' to get that ice/ On a polo rugby you look so nice, how could something so wrong make me feel so right."Kanye West

Videos you might like

Male hair loss

More Videos

0Comments | Be the first to comment!

Advertisement