Chris ‘Ruff Diamond’ Robinson is a Producer/Writer/Musician from UK, who has been described by industry executives as being one of the finest and most capable R&B producers to hail from outside of the USA. It all started when he picked up a guitar at the age of 8yrs, inspired by his Father’s love of Soul & Jazz, and Classical Pianist Mum, whom also encouraged him to sit at her grand piano and work out the chords and melody to numerous popular tunes (he could play full songs by ear, before She could teach him to read music!). Accepting their Son was a freak, they invested in some music lessons and a half size guitar which inevitably led to Chris playing in bands by the age of 10yrs and becoming a professional player by the time he left school. With school out of the way, Chris embarked on a valuable 1yr diploma course in Sound Engineering/Music Production, having decided he wanted to know his way around a recording studio. He passed with distinction, having made a few records already by the end of the course age 16 yrs. Now it was time for the road…Chris embarked on his session musician career cutting his teeth on the vibrant Manchester & Northwest Jazz circuit, at a time when Jazz-Funk was making a big comeback in the form of Acid Jazz. Having owned a copy of the ‘One Nation Under A Groove’ album (Funkadelic) at the age of 11yrs, and been into Cameo, Don Blackman, Roy Ayers, Earth Wind & Fire etc already for some time, and having a totally natural feel and love for the music, in addition to 1000’s of hours practice,studying and commitment, and having accrued the monika ‘Diamond’, it became an organic progression that Chris was to become one of the most sought after soulful funk rhythm & hip hop guitarists in the UK, often being compared to the likes of Nile Rodgers & Paul Jackson Jnr. This led him to play with a whole host of bands and artists including seasoned greats such as Errol Brown of Hot Chocolate, Gwen Dickie of Rose Royce, and Incognito legend Bluey Maunick’s Citrus Sun, Reggae legend Maxi Priest, and UK R&B singer Mark Morrison, right through to today’s hit makers such as The Shapeshifters and Corrine Bailey-Rae. In the midst of his early session musician days, Chris had started honing his production & writing skillz on a beat up Atari computer attached to an Afro sampler with approx half a second sample time, recording vocals & live instruments on a 4 track portastudio (that was actually a 3 track once track 4 had SMPTE striped on it). Results were encouraging, so he moved to London to become the ‘new’ Quincy Jones… As the journey continued, the nickname firmly became ‘Ruff Diamond’ – which was eventually to become his tag in the Urban Music industry. RD was getting the reputation for being able to put together incredibly musical joints, whilst keeping them fresh & current and keeping the beat hot & bumping. As well as being a seasoned guitarist & MPC Maestro, RD also plays Keys & Bass to a competent level, in addition to being an expert vocal arranger – so has always been regarded as a bit of a one man production force, although he has had enjoyable and successful production partnerships with Darkman, & Vinylizor whom he has co-written/produced countless Television/Commercials/Film placements with. Having packed all that into a few years, RD is now based between London & New York, meeting the growing demand for his Classy, Vibrant and Unique Sound & Magic that he is touching the projects of Artists & Bands, both Major & Indie with, from all over the Globe….the best is yet to come. Artists that Ruff Diamond has had the pleasure to work with/for include: Che’Nelle (Capitol/EMI), Estelle (V2/Warner), Teedra Moses (TVT), Beyonce Knowles (Musicworld), Mark Morrison (WEA/Mona), Marcos Hernandes (TVT), Keith Sweat (Jive/Rhino), Akon (Konvict), Corinne Bailey-Rae (Sony), Shapeshifters (Positiva/EMI),Nathan (Mona), Naila Boss (EMAP), Hil St. Soul (Gut), Noel McKoy, Monie Love, Donell Jones (Arista), Zena (Mercury), Shawn Emannuel (EMI), Maxi Priest (Relentless), 180MC (Rufflyfe), Grandmaster Flash, Kenny Thomas, Peter Cox, Andy Abrahams, Errol Brown (Universal), Steve Brookstein (Sony/BMG), The Superphonics (Pony Canyon), JP ESQ, Sherbert (Doghouse), Kine, Phoebe 1, Tyrone Lee, Martay (Riverhorse), Palntlife (Gut), Big Top, Chyna Soulstar, Jenny Bae, Jayme Ephraim (EMAP), Sonna Rele (Universal), Jin.