Today’s the day you can pick up your copy of the Legz Diamond & The Purple Gang‘s “9 Pistolas” album!  I know we have covered it already a little bit before when we posted about the New HatchetGear, but there was an update at InsaneClownPosse.com hyping it up, and it also gave the excerpt of the Legz Diamond interview from last week’s Hatchet Herald in case you missed out on it.  So, here’s the scoop:

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LEGZ DIAMOND & THE PURPLE GANG’S DEBUT ALBUM 9 PISTOLAS AVAILABLE NOW NATIONWIDE & ON HATCHETGEAR.COM!

The debut album from Legz Diamond & The Purple Gang, 9 Pistolas, is now available in big box stores nationwide as well on hatchetgear.com! Legz Diamond has been working with the Insane Clown Posse for around twenty years now give or take. He has been an absolute asset behind the scenes lending his fire startin’ guitar work to tracks as well as his crazy talented voice work. From skits to hooks and more, if you’ve liked an album in the Insane Clown Posse catalog in the last twenty years then you’ve already heard some of Legz Diamond’s work.

Now it’s his time to shine. Legz Diamond earned this chance and when given this opportunity he turned to two other well known affiliates of The Hatchet, Jumpsteady and Sugar Slam. Jumpsteady has been an influence on Violent J long before the running man ever came to light, brothers in the dark carnival, Juggalo army, and by blood. His talents have previously been featured on his solo albums, Master of the Flying Guillotine and The Chaos Theory. Sugar Slam has lent her angelic vocal work to album after album for Psychopathic bringing the softer side mixed with a deadly edge you would expect from any well respected Juggalette.

Combined they create Legz Diamond & The Purple Gang and their debut offering to the ‘Los and ‘Lettes worldwide is 9 Pistolas, an album entirely produced by the Insane Clown Posse. This is unlike anything you’ve ever heard from Psychopathic before and that’s got us excited as fuck. While our path always runs along the underground, led by the wicked shit, it’s fresh as hell to be able to present something to the Juggalos and Juggalettes that is completely unheard of and brand fuckin’ new.

Previously, The Hatchet Herald, the bi-weekly newsletter of Psychopathic Records, sat down with Legz Diamond to get his take on his career and 9 Pistolas. In celebration of the album debut we leave you with this amazing interview with the man himself. Make sure you hit up your local store to pick up 9 Pistolas or check out hatchetgear.com to grab the album as well as a load of exclusive Legz Diamond & The Purple Gang merchandise!

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Hatchet Herald: You’ve worked with ICP and Psychopathic just about from the very beginning of their career. How did you get hooked up with them?

Legz Diamond: I was working with Mike E. Clark doing some recording at his basement studio, The Fun House. He was working on the Riddle Box album with ICP at the time and they asked me if I would be interested in contributing something to that project. I jumped all over it because I was a huge ICP fan.

HH: What was the first thing you worked on with ICP?

Legz Diamond: I did the spoken word part on “Evil Eye.” From there, my working relationship with ICP just blossomed. Before I knew it I was singing hooks, performing skits. They did a show at the State Theater in Detroit for the Riddle Box album called The Joker’sGallery Show and I introduced them onstage. And it’s continued from there ever since.

HH: How long have you been playing music? Are you self taught or did you take lessons?

Legz Diamond: I’m totally self-taught. I actually got kicked out of band class in grade school. I wanted to play the drums because that was the only instrument I could think of that I knew could be played in an actual band somewhere, but they said someone else was already on the drums. So I got stuck with saxophone. But since that wasn’t what I wanted to play, I didn’t practice it or anything so two weeks later I got thrown out of the class. Boy, I’d like to see that teacher now. I never learned how to read music or sight read but I have a really good ear. Almost perfect pitch. I can learn to play just about anything just by listening to it a few times and I think as a musician that gives me a strong advantage.

HH: So what led you to record the 9 Pistolas album?

Legz Diamond: Well, every time you finish a studio project there’s a big period of withdrawal. It took us two years to complete The Mighty Death Pop! It was the biggest, most ambitious project we had done up to that point. It’s pretty incredible when you’re recording a project of that scale. You’re there in the studio every day with your boys creating magic together and when that’s suddenly gone, it can be devastating. I was just really depressed from studio withdrawal. So the idea just came to us “We should do a Legz Diamond record.” It was perfect. We just stepped in the studio and hit a home run. It didn’t feel forced or anything. The timing was right, the energy was right. Amazing.

HH: 9 Pistolas is interesting because your character is a Prohibition era gangster. Where did the idea for that character come from?

Legz Diamond: Well, growing up in Detroit I knew the history of the Purple Gang. In fact, my grandfather used to work with them back in the day—he had a hearse business. And growing up I knew where a lot of the houses they had occupied were at. It’s such a big part of Detroit culture but it’s a shame that everyone knows Al Capone but not nearly as many people know the Purple Gang.

HH: Musically, what do you think sets this album apart from any other Psychopathic release?

Legz Diamond: Well, I have a different musical approach than any other artist on Psychopathic Records because I have different musical tastes. I’m not quite as pigeonholed into hardcore rap, even though there’s plenty of it on the record. This album sounds very versatile. Just like an ICP record, it’s full of surprises.

HH: You perform with Psychopathic artists Jumpsteady and Sugar Slam on the album. What was it like working with them on this project?

Legz Diamond: Absolutely fantastic. I couldn’t be luckier. Jumpsteady and I go way back. We’re great friends and we used to promote together back in the day. He is so talented—a great writer, great delivery, great swagger. Sugar Slam is absolutely incredible. She just has such a beautiful voice. To bring all the love together in the studio was just phenomenal.

HH: Anything else you want to say to the Juggalos?

Legz Diamond: This is what’s hot, man. Pick it up. Sorry it took so long but when you pick up 9 Pistolas, you’ll find it’s worth the wait.

Websites:

• Order Legz Diamond's "9 Pistolas" @ HatchetGear