Sid Diamond

Sid Diamond previously known by his former stage name Young Sid (one third of iconic Hip-hop trio Smashproof), is a New Zealand rapper and songwriter. Sid Diamond is one of the biggest urban acts New Zealand has ever produced, and with Smashproof shattered a 23-year-old record for the longest consecutive run at number one by a New Zealand-based act on the country's singles chart with their seminal hit ‘Brother’ featuring Gin Wigmore. The song won Best Video, Highest Selling Single and The People’s Choice Awards in 2009.

Sid Diamond has travelled the world – playing in South Korea and the United States. His music has been subsequently released in Germany and throughout Europe to critical acclaim. His solo debut, The Truth, was released on Move The Crowd in 2007 and featured a guest appearance by Chamillionaire.

Breakthrough single ‘Hood Like Me’ revolutionised the way rap music was portrayed in New Zealand and threw a defiant middle-finger up to an industry that up until then had used local rap as a marketing gimmick to sell products and exploit in offensive ways. It was the precursor to ‘Brother’.

He spent three weeks in New York recording the tracks for The Truth, many of which were produced by Emile (Eminem), Cochise (Fat Joe), Shuko (Tyga/T Pain). The album would then go on to debut at No. 27 on the top-40 album charts on 10 September, and won Urban Album of the Year honours at the 2008 Māori Music Awards.

His sophomore album ‘What Doesn’t Kill Me…’ was released in 2010 and charted for 8 consecutive weeks. It also won him his second Urban Album of the Year at the Māori Music Awards, along with Māori Male Solo Artist of the Year.

An elevated sense of maturity led to an evolution of Young Sid dropping the Young moniker and performing under his own birth name – Sid Diamond. An inspirational trip to Mexico and Cuba enabled Sid Diamond to evolve further and with his extended-play release ‘Cohibas and Cubalibres’ New Zealand got to experience that artistic growth. The project included a record with Eminem’s now-rival Machine Gun Kelly/MGK and a slew of local underground artists.

Taking great pride in being revered as ‘the peoples’ rapper, Sid Diamond has never been one to hold his tongue or to ‘ft in’ for the safety of people-pleasing.