Crib Notes

When I posted an item about Crime Mob on Nov. 26, I didn’t know the group would seemingly collapse mere days later. I noticed on Crime Mob’s MySpace page that a link to Diamond’s personal MySpace page had been removed. (It has since been put back.) But who could have predicted that the lady tiger with the blond tresses was in the process of getting kicked out?

According to a Nov. 30 story on AllHipHop.com, Diamond has split. She signed a production deal with Polo Grounds Music, an Atlanta-based management company.

Diamond and Crime Mob have been at the center of the rumor mills this week, following an informal announcement at the Dirty Awards that she was no longer a member of the group.

Though she was first to speak on the situation, Diamond says the decision to have her leave Crime Mob was not her own.

“The whole idea was brought to my attention by the group,” Diamond stated, speaking exclusively to AllHipHop.com. “[But] I feel like it’s the best decision to make because now I’m able to take [advantage] of the choices and opportunities that was presented in front of me the whole time while I was in the group, and not feel like I’m being disloyal to the group or being held back.”

It’s disappointing that Crime Mob is falling apart. In a weak year for ATL commercial rap, the Bankhead teenagers were the only ones who actually delivered a solid album, Hated on Mostly. And I was genuinely looking forward to the Diamond & Princess album. But it seems like BME didn’t know how to reach the teenage market that loved “Rock Yo Hips” and, in search for more opportunities, the crew is splintering.

Cyco Black, Princess and MIG say they’ll continue on as Crime Mob, but with Diamond’s departure they’ll lose an integral part of their appeal — those two-part female chants that got the club crunk. Too bad.

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(photo by Zach Wolfe)

As we recount the heroes and villains, winners and losers of 2007, don’t forget about Crime Mob, the teenage crunksters who dropped a solid sophomore effort, Hated on Mostly, way back in March.

Sure, “Rock Yo Hips” was no “Knuck if You Buck” or “Stilettos (Pumps).” But at least it wasn’t totally wack like “Coffee Shop.” (Sorry, Yung Joc, but it’s true.) And instead of making a bunch of outrageous claims about how they represent the youth (Shop Boyz and Soulja Boy, take a bow) Crime Mob quietly earned our respect by making a good album. (Except for that song “Circles,” which samples the Friends of Distinction chestnut and is a little corny.)

Diamond and Princess may be the two most talented female MCs to hit the mainstream since Remy Martin back in 2004, and they didn’t swing on any stripper poles to prove it. Judging by their glamorous new publicity stills, which you can view in abundance on Diamond and Princess’s respective MySpace pages, that’s probably going to change. You can’t stop teenage hormones, I guess.

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