Origin/Composer: Kanye West, Devon Harris, John Barry, Don Black
Year: 2005
So back in 8th grade, our Social Studies teacher, Mr. Iverson, started us on this service project to help the kids suffering from the civil war in Sierra Leone. We learned all about their war, the RUF, the lack of foreign support, the amputating of arms, and the problem with the blood diamonds. It was one of the most exciting and disturbing service projects I’ve done, so I’ll remember it for a long time. Then, in 10 grade, for Enriched English Block, Mr. Holm assigned our research paper on the diamonds and civil wars, specifically those in Sierra Leone and Nigeria. So this whole thing with diamonds and civil war has been with me since 7th grade, so I was very excited when Kanye West came out with this song. To top it off, it features Jay-Z, even though that last part kinda ruins the song.