SYDNEY, Australia (Universal
Music Australia) - Kanye West, the 28-year-old Grammy winner recently named to Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world, is stressed. Strange, perhaps, but West – the perpetual underdog - is still fighting for his life, currently pitched in heated battle with the latest 800-pound gorilla in the corner: Himself.
'It's hard when people are depending on you to have an album that's not just good, but inspired,' West recently told Teen People. 'I mean, my music isn't just music – its medicine. I want my songs to touch people, to give them what they need. Every time I make an album, I'm trying to make a cure for cancer, musically. That stresses me out!'
If 'Diamonds From Sierra Leone,' the stunning first single from Late Registration - Kanye's sophomore effort set for an August 15th release on Roc-A-Fella Records - is any indication, the gorilla should be stressed. 'Diamonds' 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.
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.'
Like 'Jesus Walks,' with it's imagery of abusive prison chain gangs and Klansmen burning crosses, 'Diamonds' 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.'
