 DJ Quik | Nicki Minaj  |
I miss being on stage with Crime Mob.
The late nights in the studio working on her new DJ Smallz mixtape, P.M.S. (Pardon My Swag), and her as-yet-untitled debut solo album? The late nights on set filming the video for her new Zaytoven-produced mixtape single, “Sicknan”? The late nights on stage in random cities throughout the South? Psssshhhh. If you really wanna know how busy Brittany “Diamond” Carpenter, 21, has been, peep this: Until recently, the girl didn’t even know who Drake was. (And, seriously, if you’re reading this and just wondered, “Wait, who’s Drake?” go ahead and hit the “BACK” button on your browser. Like, right now.)
The funny thing is that Diamond asked for all of this—three verses on every song instead of one, lonely nights in the studio, solo performances—when she parted ways with Atlanta rap group Crime Mob shortly after the release of their 2007 sophomore album, Hated On Mostly (BME/Warner Bros.). After helping the group create hit records like “Knuck If You Buck,” “Stilettos (Pumps),” and “Rock Yo Hips,” Diamond proved to be the brightest star in the bunch. But now she’s faced with an even bigger task: setting herself apart from the group and doing it as a female MC in an industry dominated by males. So, how’s she gonna do it? VIBE got busy with one of the flyest chicks in the game to find out.
Everyone has probably already asked you the difference between being in Crime Mob and being a solo artist. So let’s flip it a little. First, what’s the best thing about being a solo artist?
You get your own money. [Laughs] No, but really, all the decisions you make you get to make on your own. When you’re in a group like Crime Mob with five other members, everybody has to vote on everything. One person could be like, I don’t like this and blah, blah, blah. There’s so much confrontation.
And the worst thing about going solo?
I miss being on stage with Crime Mob. Being on stage and seeing five other people around—you’re feeding off them, they’re feeding off you. It’s weird for me to perform now, especially when I do the group songs. There’s just so many memories. I have flashbacks and it does bother me sometimes.
So, do you still keep in touch with anyone from the group then?
Nah, I don’t talk to any of them. I seen Cyco Black about four months ago. We spoke to each other for a minute but then we kept it moving.
Outside of just being a solo artist now, female rappers obviously aren’t popping off like they used to. Has that entered your mind as you’ve been working on your album?
Well, there’s a lot of pressure on me. Not only do I have to prove myself outside of Crime Mob, but after I prove myself as a solo artist, I have to be faced with the challenges of being a female MC. But I don’t want to be the girl that brings the game back. I don’t get into all the titles. I just want people to love me for my music and respect my talent.
Do you think there’s a reason female MCs aren’t succeeding in the industry right now?
Females are very emotional, so even when there was a ton of females, people weren’t collaborating like how the guys do. Half these guys that collab with each other don’t even each other, you know? But they still do it. If the price is right, I don’t care. You could be a female rapper and sell two times as much as me. Wouldn’t bother me. I want to make great music. I definitely want to be another voice for the ladies—because men can’t really speak for the ladies—but I also feel like more females should come out and rap. It’s better than seeing the same old guys on TV.
Especially today, people automatically tend to associate female rappers with sex. What topics are you trying to get at on your project?
I have a bunch of different subjects. One song is called “Testify,” and it’s basically showing people that life has not always been easy for me as a person and as a female artist. But I am the best…well, not the best. But I am great at what I do. I’m also elaborating about what happened with Crime Mob.
Okay, sounds deep.
Yeah, and then I have a club record with Keri Hilson called “Like a Stripper.”
Here comes the sex!
[Laughs] Right now, you got dope boys who get money and you got females who are strippers who get money. A stripper is the female version of being a dope boy. So it’s really speaking for all the women who grind for theirs and work hard.
Sounds like something different than the title implies.
It’s catchy! I also have a song with Three 6 Mafia that’s taking it back to the club. I’m 21 now, we’re at the bar, I’m tipsy and partying.
Speaking of partying, there was a video of you making its way around the ’Net with you drinking a bottle of Grey Goose on your birthday in the studio. Did you really just turn 21?
Yaaaaaaay!
And the studio? That’s where you wanted to celebrate your 21st birthday?
Well, I had a party on May 4 at the Velvet Room in Atlanta. A lot of people showed up—Gucci Mane, Swizz Beatz, Lil Scrappy, Cherish, Rocko. That was the big thing for me. So by the time my actual birthday came, I felt like I already did it. I tried, tried, tried not to go out too much before then. I was really focused on my album.
That sounds more like it. I was gonna say, if you skipped your 21st birthday to work…No. [Laughs]
But I’m going to tell you something to let you know just how deep I was in recording the last few months. I feel so bad about this. I didn’t even know who Drake was until I went to his concert in Atlanta in May. Everybody from Usher to JD to Trey Songz to Polow Da Don to Teyana Taylor was at the show, and everybody was reciting this man’s lines. I was like, Whoa! What have I missed? Where have I been the last six months?
Diamond, you don’t log onto the Internet? Not even once a month? You’re that busy?
Well, I really like Twitter.
That’s a start. Is that helping you keep in touch with fans and get back in touch with the world?
Yeah, but Twitter is kinda crazy. Like, one day I said something like, ‘Just getting out of the shower. I’m having a debate between the pink panties and the red ones. What do y’all think?’
And?
Like a million people hit me back! Some dudes were like, ‘Yo Diamond, it’s the pink ones!’ Other dudes were like, ‘No, Diamond, I’m telling you—the red ones!’ It was so hilarious. It showed me that people really be on it.
Okay, that story makes up for not knowing who Drake was. Now you just need to stick with it. Welcome back to the world.
I know, I know. [Laughs] I wasn’t on it before, but I’m on it now!
Press play to watch the video for Crime Mob's "Rock Yo Hips"'
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