Ever since she burst into the public eye on the second season of Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow, Detroit Diamond’s life has been nonstop flights, interviews, and performances. Three days before our recent interview, she was the featured guest on Sway in the Morning in New York where she dropped one of the hottest freestyles of the year. The night before we speak, she held an album listening party at Club Legacy in Mount Clemens.
When I try to compare her to the lyrical genius of Rapsody, she takes a pause. “I ain’t in the Rapsody category because Rapsody is so hard,” she says, adding, “shout out to Rapsody ‘cause she actually commented and sent me a DM after the Sway freestyle.”
Before Detroit Diamond was hip-hop’s newest Detroit diva, she was a standout basketball player that graduated from Cody High School, going on to play in Division 1 and semi-pro ball.
That all changed on January 29, 2014, when Diamond’s little brother D Beezy, an aspiring emcee, was murdered. The loss devastated Detroit Diamond. She’s used the hashtag “#LLDBeezy” on every social media post since.
“I was depressed and just mentally not there any more, so I was really losing the love for basketball at that time,” she says.
After four years of rediscovering herself, Diamond began writing hip-hop lyrics. She had always been an exceptional language arts student, so writing rhymes came naturally. Her evolution into a hip-hop artist was also a way for her to pull herself out of depression and carry on her brother’s legacy.
She released her first project Year of the Diamonds in 2020. On “Rock My World” she cleverly rapped over a Michael Jackson sample, and served up a strong dose of sex appeal in “Bad Mami.” She says Year of the Diamonds was a strong first project that she’s still proud of.
“I feel like it’s my baby and I honestly feel like it was ahead of its time,” she says.
As she looked to continue to grow as an artist and explore more opportunities, she connected with a team of industry professionals who promised to help advance her career if she moved to California. Once there she made a name for herself, but says the treatment she received from the team had changed. Promises were replaced with incivility and the situation quickly became toxic, she says. With very few options Diamond was forced to start living out of her car.
“They just weren’t good people once I got out there,” she says. “This is in the midst of me knowing who I am, creating my boundaries, not allowing people to do anything, or to treat me any kind of way … and I don’t care if I am about to be homeless or figure out where I’m about to stay, I’m not going to take the disrespect from y’all.”
Diamond admits she could have easily taken the loss in stride and come back home to Detroit. “It was really fucked up,” she says. Instead, her athletic spirit took over and she decided to stay in Cali. She kept going until one day she received an invitation from the producers of Rhythm + Flow to audition.
“They found me,” she says. “That’s why I’m telling people it don’t matter how big your following is, how many people like and comment on your stuff — just keep posting, stay consistent, because you never know who’s watching, and it can change your life in that moment.”
After several auditions and a yearslong delay due to COVID, Detroit Diamond was officially cast as one of the 22 participants on Rhythm + Flow in 2023. The hip-hop reality show used high profile artists Latto, Ludacris, and DJ Khaled to critique, mentor, and judge the rappers, who were competing to win a $250,000 prize over the eight episodes. Detroit’s Sam Be Yourself was cast in season one.
Diamond got off to a fast start, impressing Detroit all-star emcee and guest judge Big Sean in the first episode. She then won a battle rap competition in the second episode that was judged by Eminem, Royce da 5’9”, and Mr. Porter.
“Before the battle Em said, ‘Don’t let me down,’ because I was the only one here from Detroit,” she says. “That’s what he told me.”
Ultimately, Detroit Diamond appeared in all the episodes and came in fourth place.
“I don’t feel like it’s been nobody that went through a platform like that, that represented in a positive way and made the city look good,” she says. “It’s a lot of other TV shows where it’s people from Detroit on there but it’s not really them.”
After the show Diamond says she received encouraging words from Latto, an Atlanta rapper who has penned two gold albums and four platinum singles.
“She was like, ‘You got everything you need to be successful,’” Diamond says. “‘You got the look, you got the sound. You can really rap, all you need is better production.’”
Since her appearance on Rhythm + Flow Diamond has kept the momentum going by appearing on On The Radar Radio and releasing her album ROTY (Rookie of The Year) in January. The lead single “Go” exemplifies Diamond’s commitment to combine sharp lyricism with her own brand of Detroit swagger and sex appeal. Diamond says she’s received interest from record labels but nothing life-changing, and plans to continue to both stay consistent and lean on her versatility as an artist to push forward.
“You’re getting Detroit, the real Detroit,” she says. “Everything about me is authentic, I’m not fabricating my story in any type of way. I’m not trying to sound like anybody. I’m not getting boxed in either. I feel like I can make any type of song.”
Detroit Diamond is set to perform as part of day two of the 313 Day festival. Doors at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 14; Masonic Temple, 500 Temple St., Detroit; 313dayevents.com. Tickets are $49-$80, or $90 for access to both days of the event.
