ARTIST OF THE MONTH - UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
Connie Diiamond is ready to make her jump from the Bronx to the top of the charts. With witty lyricism and a flipbook of cadences that range from relentlessly aggressive to endearingly flirty, the newly signed Def Jam artist is intent on dragging the legendary hip-hop borough to the center of the map. Following the October release of “Started,” a single that’s equal parts intimidating and addictive, she is maintaining the thrilling momentum with a placement on the NBA 2K23 soundtrack (“Raid” featuring NBA star Damian Lillard, a.k.a. Dame D.O.L.L.A.) and a December EP, Gift Raps. The four-track collection is compact, but bursting with color and personality, showcasing the rapper’s many facets, with tracks like the Jersey-inspired club track “Mood” to the Beethoven-sampling “Jingle Bells.”
Diiamond’s buzz began in 2016 with her freestyle atop Drake’s “Summer Sixteen” before a menacing 2021 rendition of DaBaby’s “Ball If I Want To” sparked a viral flame. Now the rapper is solidifying her position as the unstoppable voice from the Bronx. “I call myself the underdog sometimes, because people may think they know me,” she says. “But they don’t know how creative I can get.”