Ultimate Force (Diamond D)

Title: I'm Not Playing
Label: Strong City/Traffic
Genre: Hip-Hop
Format: LP Vinyl

In the annals of “from the vaults” Hip Hop legend, time will show that a 17-year delay in the release of the Ultimate Force’s ridiculously dope debut, I’m Not Playin', is an injustice of mammoth musical proportions. That sounds like a bunch of hype. It’s not. Take one listen to “Another Hit”, “Girls”, “Revolution of the Mind”, the stellar posse cut “Oh Shit” (featuring a teenaged Fat Joe, also heard here on “C’mon”) and one of the best DJ tracks of all time, “Supreme Diamond D”, and tell me that these wouldn’t have blown up if they had hit, as originally planned, in 1990. We all know that the Ultimate Force’s DJ and producer Diamond [then known as Diamond D] is one hell of a tracktitioner. His work on Lord Finesse’s 1990 classic Funky Technician proved it, his 1992 debut Stunts, Blunts & Hip-Hop cemented it early on, and his track record ever since (ever heard of the Fugees? Busta Rhymes? DITC, anyone?) has shut down any doubters. Case closed. But one listen to this record will show you where his skills really started to shine. And not just as a producer, and definitely not as an MC (he didn’t rhyme in the Ultimate Force). His DJ skills here, along with his now-legendary production muscle, are worth the price of admission alone. Imagine if the world had heard “Supreme Diamond D” – wherein the man born Joseph Kirkland runs through the entire alphabet, cutting phrases from A to Z – in 1990.

Tracklist
1. Another Hit
2. C'mon - f/ Fat Joe
3. Girls
4. I Gotta Go
5. I'm In Effect
6. Oh S**t - f/ Fat Joe
7. I'm Not Playing
8. One Of The All Time Greats
9. Revolution Of The Mind
10. Smooth As Suede
11. Supreme Diamond D
12. Tuf (So Damn)