Background
After gathering research on the plight of children in West African countries, who since 1991 having been forced to mine conflict diamonds and die in civil wars financed by them, West recorded a remix to "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" which featured an additional closing verse by Jay-Z and new verses that detail the situation in Sierra Leone. He initiates the remix by proclaiming, "Good Morning! This ain't Vietnam. Still, people lose hands, legs, arms for real. Little was known of Sierra Leone, and how it connect to the diamonds we own..." The remix was included as the eleventh track within the album, whereas the original version was included as a bonus track. It was originally entitled, "Diamonds Are Forever" but because Jay had a song on The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse called "Diamond Is Forever," Kanye had it changed. An unofficial remix entitled "Conflict Diamonds," which went into even further detail regarding the situation in Sierra Leone, was recorded by Kanye's friend and fellow Chicagoan rapper Lupe Fiasco. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" remains a crowd favorite and is one of West's most performed songs. It boasts a chorus that calls for listeners to "Throw ya diamonds in the sky," referring to the Roc-A-Fella hand sign, which is in the shape of a diamond.
Read more about this topic: Diamonds From Sierra Leone
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