Rapper Lil Baby is facing heat from fans on social media after he showed off new “blood diamond” earrings that sparked condemnation that he was knowingly or unknowingly endorsing the bloody war and slavery that is involved in mining the diamonds.
Lil Baby’s boasting backfired after he attempted to shame his competitors by telling them that his rocks were pricey and not grown in a lab as most stones are nowadays. According to the rapper in a video shared on Tuesday, his dazzling earrings were mined by hand from the rough and naturally occurring minerals.
“These ain’t lab diamonds,” Lil Baby bragged in an Instagram Story video. “My sh*t out the mud, these real stones, you hear me?” he said. The rapper was decked out in jewelry on his wrists and sported chains on his neck and also gave fans a glimpse of his brand new Tiffany x Nike Air Force 1s that recently came out.
The post did not give what Lil Baby thought it would give, as many called him out for buying diamonds that might have come from mines where children work as slaves and are poorly rewarded.
“Basically he got taxed for child labour diamonds. Ain’t nothing wrong with lab [made],” a fan told Lil Baby in the comments of a DJ Akademiks post. “He don’t know the damn difference, he believes what Ice Box telling him,” another fan wrote.
“Blood diamonds,” one person wrote, while another said, “Some 5 year old without an arm in Sierra Leone is out mining diamonds for Lil Baby rn.”
Lil Baby show off his "real" diamonds from the grounds and catch some heat for it pic.twitter.com/W2k1iKwjKp
— Urban Islandz (@urbanislandz) March 24, 2023
Some fans of the rapper also seemed to glean knowledge from what he said.
“I f-xx with Lil Baby more everyday. My little brother was trying to convince me that lab-grown and moissanite diamonds are just as good when they like $225ct vs $1300ct worth. If you can’t afford it then just save your money,” one fan said. “Always thought Jewelry was a waste of money,” another person said.
Over the years, rapper have gotten flocked for spending heavily on diamond jewelry believed to be originated as a result of forced child labor in Africa to find the precious stones. Kanye West rapped about the issue in his 2005 song “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” where he took other rappers to task.
“Good mornin’, 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/ When I speak of diamonds in this song,” Kanye raps.
Kanye West later shared that he was forced to learn about the blood diamond trade in Sierra Leone during a hard conversation with Q-Tip. The song later won a Grammy for Best Rap Song in 2006.
It appears Lil Baby need to have a sit down with Q-Tip and learn something like Kanye West did.
