By Odeisel

Growing up is hard to do under regular circumstances these days. Growing up under the bright lights of fame is harder still, as the  death of former child star Gary Coleman is a recent reminder of. There are forces that pull from all angles which attempt to stunt your growth and leave you as the cute novelty you began as; forces that would rob you of growth maturity and above all responsibility.

Diamond has come up under the stage lights and her travel hasn’t been all roses. After coming into the game with Crime Mob and getting early success with the raucous street hit “Knuck If You Buck” which eventually was certified platinum, she left the group in 2007 and since then has managed to maintain a relatively high profile without having much retail material available for consumption. In that time she managed a three volume Bitch Muzik mixtape series as a one off called Pardon My Swag.

Planet Ill sat down with the precocious rapper fresh off her appearance on the remix of Ludacris hit “My Chick Bad,” co-starring with veteran femcees Eve and Trina. She just signed to burgeoning label Battery Records and has a new record out called “Lotta Money.” Diamond finds herself outside of the group structure and focused on making her way in this business with her chin up and her eyes forward. Below are the results. Enjoy.

How have you changed since you first stepped on the scene?

Do you run into fans/people who don’t want you to change or grow?

How do you manage to keep your profile so high without having an album out?

What are the differences between the Bitch Muzik series and Pardon My Swag?

How was it working on the My Chick Bad remix?

What elements of the late 80′s/90′s [when you grew up]are reflected in your new single “Lotta Money?”

Look out for part 2 this afternoon only on Planet Ill!

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