Today (August 19), Diamond D released his latest album, THE REAR VIEW. The 15-song collection (embedded below) finds the veteran MC/producer flexing his MC chops while playing double duty behind the boards as producer. It features Westside Gunn, De La Soul’s Posdnuos, and Diamond’s latest protege, Ashtin Martin. The Bronx, New York native recently spoke to Ambrosia For Heads‘ What’s The Headline podcast about the LP (embedded below), which was released through D’s Dymond Mine Records imprint (and is available on CD and vinyl).

There are interludes from Fat Joe and Chris Rock on the album too. Using Rock’s Top Five as a theme, Diamond is asked to name his Top 5 producers at the 22:50 mark.

“Aight, I’m gonna name five; they’re not in no order. They’re special though,” begins Diamond. “You can’t really only name five. At this moment—today—’cause you could ask me tomorrow and I’ll give you another five. But today I would put [Dr.] Dre on that list. I would put Nottz on that list. I would put [J] Dilla on that list—even though some say it might not be fair because he’d been dead a number of years.” In closing out the list, the artist listed “Battlecat. Nah, Battlecat’s the illest. The illest—with the chops, with the musicianship.” He ended “Pete Rock, I’ll put Pete in there.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT AMBROSIA FOR HEADS