Young Sid
| Sid Diamond | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sidney Diamond |
| Also known as | Sid Diamond, Young Sid |
| Born |
7 July 1986 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Origin | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Genres | Trip hop, New Zealand hip hop |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Move The Crowd Records |
| Associated acts | Smashproof, David Dallas, Ethical, Brad Marquis, Nesian Mystik |
| Website | http://www.movethecrowd.co.nz/ |
Sidney "Sid" Diamond (born 7 July 1986), previously known by his stage name Young Sid, is a New Zealand rapper and member of hip-hop group Smashproof. His 2007 debut album, The Truth, was named the Urban Album of the Year at the 2008 Māori Music Awards.
Young Sid was born in Ōtara, South Auckland, New Zealand and later moved to Manukau City, Auckland. He is of Cook Islands and Māori descent, and was raised in the Manukau suburb of Otara. Sid used his aunt's address to attend Papatoetoe High School. He was first attracted to American hip hop after listening to his older brother's copy of the 1988 N.W.A single "Gangsta Gangsta." Sid recorded his first song when he was eleven, and was part of a short-lived hip-hop group called The Murder Squad.
Sid, along with fellow rappers Tyree and Deach, formed hip-hop trio Smashproof in 2005, and they signed a contract with Move The Crowd Records (a subsidiary of Universal) during Sid's first semester of university; he dropped out shortly thereafter in order to pursue his music career full-time. Sid explained in an interview with the Sunday Star Times that the name "Smashproof" was a play on the word "bulletproof." He briefly came under controversy in February 2008 when he appeared in a music video featuring a South Auckland street gang, of which his brother is a member.
His solo debut, The Truth, was released on Move The Crowd in 2007, and featured a guest appearance by Chamillionaire. He spent three weeks in New York recording the tracks, many of which were produced in Croatia, France, and Auckland. The album would then go on to debut at No. 27 in its lone week on the RIANZ top-40 album charts on 10 September.
His first album with Smashproof, titled The Weekend, was released in March 2009, and featured their No. 1 hit song, "Brother," which broke 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. Sid was the opening act for Ice Cube's Straight Outta Compton Tour concert in Manukau City on 22 August 2007.
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