Diamonds from Sierra Leone
Jay-Z; Kanye West Lyrics

Diamonds are forever
The value of diamonds never diminishes

They won't leave in the night
Diamonds won't disappear and leave you in the dark

I've no fear that they might
I'm not worried that my diamonds will vanish unexpectedly

Desert me
Leave me alone or empty-handed

Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe
If you feel the energy in this song, raise your diamond jewelry up high

The Roc is still alive every time I rhyme
My record label, Roc-A-Fella Records, is still thriving when I make music

Forever ever? Forever ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?
Repeating 'forever ever' and 'ever, ever?' to emphasize the lasting impact of diamonds

Close your eyes and imagine, feel the magic
Picture a surreal scene and experience the wonder

Vegas on acid, seen through Yves St. Laurent glasses
The visual feels like multiplying the glitter of Las Vegas with the distortion of an acid trip, viewed through high-end designer sunglasses

And I've realized that I've arrived
I know that I've reached a high level of success

Cause it take more than a magazine to kill my Vibe
I'm too strong to be negatively influenced by media coverage of my life

Does he write his own rhymes, well sort of, I think 'em
There's some ambiguity about whether I create my own lyrics or not

That mean I forgot better shit than you ever thought of
Even if I don't write everything myself, I have a lot of creative ideas

Damn, is he really that caught up?
Some people are surprised by how much I'm invested in my art

I ask if you talked about classics, do my name get brought up?
When people discuss the best music of all time, is my name in the conversation?

I remember I couldn't afford a Ford Escort
In the past, I didn't have enough money to buy a basic car

Or even a four-track recorder
I couldn't even afford the equipment to record my own music

So it's only right that I let the top drop on a drop-top Porsche
Now that I have a luxury sports car, it's appropriate for me to enjoy it to the fullest

It's for yourself, that's important
Investing in things that make you happy is worthwhile

If your stripper name 'Porscha' and you get tips from many men
A hypothetical example of a woman who works as a stripper and makes money from male customers

Then your fat friend, her nickname is 'Minivan'
Another hypothetical example of a woman's unflattering nickname

Excuse me, that's just the Henny, man
I blame my alcohol consumption for these silly comments

I smoke, I drink, I'm supposed to stop, I can't because
I know I'm supposed to quit these habits, but it's not easy

I was sick about awards, couldn't nobody cure me
I was upset about not winning certain awards

Only playa that got robbed but kept all his jewelry
Despite the unfair treatment, I managed to keep my wealth and status

Alicia Keys tried to talk some sense in him
The singer Alicia Keys attempted to reason with me

30 minutes later sein' there's no convincin' him
I was too stubborn to change my mind in a short amount of time

What more could you ask for? The international asshole
I acknowledge my reputation as a rude, arrogant person

Who complain about what he is owed?
Why wouldn't I complain about not getting the recognition or payment I deserve?

And throw a tantrum like he is 3 years old
I'm prone to having childish outbursts when I don't get what I want

You gotta love it though somebody still speaks from his soul
Despite my flaws, people appreciate that I'm authentic in my music

And wouldn't change by the change, or the game, or the fame
I won't let success or different circumstances change who I am at the core

When he came in the game, he made his own lane
I carved out my own unique style when I started my music career

Now all I need is y'all to pronounce my name
I want people to say my full name correctly

It's Kanye, but some of my plaques, they still say Kayne
Even though the correct spelling is Kanye, some of my awards have a typo

Got family in the D, Kin-folk from Motown
I have relatives in Detroit and some of them have connections to the city's music scene

Back in the Chi, them Folks ain't from Moe Town
In Chicago, the people in the street gang known as the Folks have no affiliation with Motown music

Life movin' too fast I need to slow down
I feel overwhelmed and need to take a break

Girl ain't give me no ass, ya need to go down
A woman I was with didn't want to have sex, so I'm frustrated

My father been said I need Jesus
My dad suggested that I become more religious

So he took me to church and let the water wash over my caesar
I had a baptism and symbolically washed away my sins

The preacher said we need leaders
The pastor spoke about the importance of having strong, positive role models

Right then my body got still like a paraplegic
I was so moved by the message that I felt frozen

You know who you call, you got a message, then leave it
If you need to contact me, leave a message and I'll respond when I can

The Roc stand tall and you would never believe it
My record label is successful and powerful beyond what people might expect

Take your diamonds and throw 'em up like you bulimic
A reference to the act of vomiting, suggesting that people should throw their diamonds up until they feel empty

Yeah, the beat cold but the flow is anemic
While the instrumental is strong, my vocal delivery is weak compared to my usual standard

After debris settles and the dust get swept off
Once things calm down and the chaos subsides

Big K pick up where young Hov left off
The rapper Big K.R.I.T. carries on the legacy of Jay-Z's early work

Right when magazines wrote Kanye West off
At a time when some media outlets dismissed me as irrelevant

I dropped my new shit, it sound like the best of
My recent release is high-quality and reminiscent of my previous hits

A&R's lookin' like, 'Pssh, we messed up'
Record label executives are regretting not paying enough attention to my talent and potential

Grammy night, damn right, we got dressed up
I dress formally for the Grammy Awards

Bottle after bottle till we got messed up
We drank a lot of alcohol and got drunk

In the studio, with Really Doe, yeah, he next up
I'm working on music with the up-and-coming rapper Really Doe

People askin' me if I'm gon' give my chain back
Some people want me to return a piece of jewelry that I borrowed or stole from them

That'll be the same day I give the game back
I won't give up my status and success in the music industry

You know the next question dog: 'Yo, where Dame at?'
People are curious about the whereabouts of my business partner, Damon Dash

This track the Indian dance to bring our reign back
This song is like an Indian dance, symbolizing the return of our dominance in the music world

'What's up with you and Jay, man, are y'all ok man?'
People are worried about any tension or conflict between me and Jay-Z

They pray for the death of our dynasty like 'Amen'
Some people want our partnership and success to come to an end

R-r-r-r-right here stands a man
I'm a confident and proud individual

With the power to make a diamond with his bare hands
I'm capable of creating something valuable and impressive, even without traditional tools and resources