Hip-Hocrisy By Lee H. Tillman

A lot of people praise Kanye West for making the song "Diamond from Sierra Leon." Mostly because he brought light to a subject that has been hidden in the dark for decades. The truth behind the jewelry that some of us choose to wear is that they could be "conflict" or "blood" diamonds. For anyone that didn't do any research after listening, conflict diamonds are diamonds that come from areas controlled by rebels,and are used to fund military action in opposition to the government. Sierra Leone's war over conflict diamonds began in March 1991 when a few hundred men crossed over the Liberian border and attacked towns in eastern and southern Sierra Leone. In 1992, the Revolutionary United Front (R.U.F.), a ruthless rebel group, seized Kono, the diamond mining capital of Sierra Leone. In an effort to stabilize the region and restore democratic civilian rule, the National Provisional Ruling Council (N.P.R.C.) became engaged in a war with the R.U.F. rebels. Some might say the the N.P.R.C. only made things worse because the rebels ended up launching an attack on Sierra Leoneans during the 1996 elections for a new government. To intimidate potential voters and to maintain control of the diamond mines, the rebels chopped off the hands and feet of adults, teens, children and even infants.(That's not mentioning the children they force to mine the diamonds.) For the past 16 years it's been an uphill battle with very little wins. While Kanye's stance is admirable, is it really enough? In the original version of "Diamonds from Sierra Leon" he never even mentions conflict diamonds at all. In the remix featuring Jay-Z he mentions : "apart of me saying' keep shining'/ how? when I know of the blood diamonds?" Before any real discourse takes place he retires the discussion all together stating "fore I beat myself up like Ike/you could still throw ya Rocafella diamond tonight" Basically saying" I know it sucks over there but it's OK because... well... you're here." Leaving you to ponder the question "'Ye, now that you know the truth about this subject matter are you going to get rid of your chain?" He answers with an emphatic "No." telling us that "that'll be the same day I give the game back."

Hip hop heads may know of the original version of the song done by Lupe Fiascowhich goes into greater detail about the plight of Sierra Leon. But even Lupe states during an instrumental break "I ain't coming down on nobody, I ain't trying to judge nobody or nothing like that. I floss too I might go get me a pinky ring tomorrow." Later stating "you have to know the truth before you can be a hypocrite." I know what you're thinking. "It's just a song. At least he talked about it and brought it too our conscience." The truth is that I do appreciate him greatly for this but what has he done for Sierra Leon,Angola and the republic of Congo lately? "Diamonds" is more about his own conflicts than the armless "shorties" he mentions in the song. I know "it's in a black person's soul to rock that gold" but "people[are] lose[ing] hands, legs, arms." For real! The truth of the matter is that unless you are or know a diamond trader, arms manufacturer, or government official there isn't a lot of direct work you can do other than persuade these people to create a well-structured 'Certificate of Origin' regime. Until the UN gets it together you'll never know what diamonds you're buying because Jacob the Jeweler isn't going to tell you the truth.
When Kanye West stated that "George Bush doesn't care about black people" (a statement that really shouldn't be that shocking) he created a media frenzy. Imagine if he stated that "Diamonds are forever but human life isn't and this chain around my neck isn't worth a persons life." I guess we'll just have to wait... hopefully not forever.

Lee H. Tillman is a Los Angeles based writer/MC. For more information log onto Calogerodean.com

Post Your Feedback.