While shopping at Lenox mall this weekend, I ran into rapper Diamond and her friends Jai Jai (left) and J. Marie (right). The ladies were doing a little shopping of their own in preparation for the Dirty Awards going down tonight in Atlanta.

Oh, you didn’t know the Dirty Awards were tonight? I didn’t either until Diamond told me. In fact, no one I spoke to yesterday knew the Dirty Awards were tonight. That means Hot 107.9 isn’t doing such a hot job getting the word out.

They say Tahira Wright isn’t in charge of publicity this year. That would explain it. Tahira is really good at what she does and her PR skills are a direct testament to the success of the Dirty Awards over the years.

Anyway, back to the original topic. Diamond told me her man Li’l Scrappy was also in the mall shopping for something to wear tonight. She gave me a copy of her hot new mixtape Ms. Boojhetto Bitch Musik Vol. 2. I begged the girls to take a picture with Santa Claus, and at first they were open to the suggestion — until they saw the line. So I snapped a pic of the trio with my new Sidekick LX with the help of Jai Jai, who couldn’t believe I didn’t know how to take a photo with my cell phone (what professional photographer shoots with a cell phone?)

Jai Jai is a celebrity makeup artist who counts Diamond among her celebrity clientèle. She’s also rapper Oowee’s baby mama (they could pass for sister and brother). J. Marie is a very soft-spoken model who was in town visiting from St. Louis.

Diamond’s solo album is due out in the first quarter of ’09.

Diamond’s Myspace page
Jai Jai’s Myspace page
J. Marie’s Myspace page