Features : International Artist Sylla Diamond Combines Hip hop and Afrobeat to the Main Stage

International recording artist Sylla Diamond is here to turn up the heat with an infusion of hip hop and afrobeat. His newest album is a medley of life experiences, energetic beats, and strong vocal delivery. As summer approaches, the artist’s fresh beats are just the sound we’re looking for.

Born in Monrovia, Liberia, Darlington Calvin Nimely—otherwise known as Sylla Diamond—is not your average artist. Civil war in Liberia brought the young Darlington and his family to a refugee camp in Ghana and, eventually, to the United States as a teenager. Years of exposure to war and conflict led Sylla Diamond to develop a unique perspective that would go on to inspire his music.

Sylla Diamond turned to industry greats—Tupac, Snoop Dog, Jay-Z—for inspiration in his younger years. Another major influence on Sylla was exposure to the street life upon moving to New Jersey. The underground battle rap scene of nearby North Philadelphia called to Sylla, who became a battle rapper holding his own against hip-hop artists on the streets and earning acknowledgement. Despite running into situations that may have ended badly for the young artist, Sylla says of his early days, “Coming from West Africa, I started doing music to stay out of trouble.”

After moving once again to the UK in 2014, Sylla focused on his career and quickly captivated listeners through features on a handful of local underground releases and performances. His 2018 debut album, “Spoken Truth,” was distributed by Bentley Records, the label with which he was signed that year. 2019 was a solid year for Sylla Diamond and included a six-country West African tour and a single, “Link Up,” featuring Sean Paul.

Two years later, in 2020, Sylla Diamond released “Hot Scotch” through Bentley Records, which went Gold and sold more than 500,000 copies. “When my last project went gold, I was ecstatic. All the hard work paid off and I was starting to be noticed,” shares the artist of what is one of his proudest life accomplishments.

“I enjoy the grind. I like everything about music—the struggle, the back and forth. Music has taken me lots of places,” says Sylla Diamond. The seasoned artist continues to hone his craft and take years’ worth of experience to elevate his music to new heights. “

“I communicate through music about life—what inspires me,” shares Sylla Diamond about his creative process. “I like to take my time to write—sometimes it takes a month or two to write a song. I’ll leave it if I’m struggling with it and come back to it later.” The payoff is worth the careful, slow process.

This new album “is a feel-good record.” Sylla Diamond wants listeners to know that “whatever feedback they have, they should be able to share with me whether good or bad. I want to learn and grow.”

To keep up to date with Sylla Diamond, be sure to check out the links below.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sylla+diamond

https://soundcloud.com/syllamusicent

Socials:

https://twitter.com/Sylla_MusicENT.

https://www.instagram.com/Sylla_musicent/

https://www.facebook.com/SyllaMusicENT