Diggin’ in the Crates Crew founding father Diamond D is the epitome of what it means to be a rapper/producer. Not only will he “take a beat and flip it, with so much flavor niggas wanna sip it,” but he’ll also “smoke an MC like a Newport.” The South Bronx bomber, who’s responsible for crafting all the dope beats and witty raps for his quintessential debut solo album, Stunts, Blunts, & Hip Hop, has worked alongside legends from coast to coast.

He was one of the first producers from New York to rock with artists out West, and has laid down tracks and/or lyrics for songs with A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One, Tha Alkaholiks, The Fugees, The Pharcyde, Brand Nubian, and Mos Def.

In addition, Dee Squizzy helped launch the careers of fellow D.I.T.C. members Lord Finesse, Fat Joe, and Showbiz and A.G., by lacing them with gritty, sample-heavy production, and has remixed singles for Outkast and Leaders Of The New School.

Yes, here at Complex, we feel Diamond D isn’t out of line calling himself “the best producer on the mic,” which is why we got him to break down the history behind his classic records. Find out who almost fell out of a boat on the Hudson River during a video shoot, which rapper came to his house with a bottle of hot sauce in his pocket, and why one of the artists he sampled named a song after him. These are the real stories so fuck what you heard.

As told to Daniel Isenberg (@stanipcus)