Mélanie Georgiades (; born 25 July 1980 in Nicosia), better known by her stage name Diam's (), is a retired French rapper of Greek Cypriot origin. Biography Mélanie Marie Georgiades was born on July 25, 1980 in Nicosia, capital of Cyprus. Her mother is French and her father is Greek Cypriot. After her parents separated, she arrived in France with her mother at the age of three. She spent her childhood in Paris, then in the department of Essonne, in Brunoy, until the age of thirteen. She studied for a while in Igny, in the private Saint-Nicolas college. Later, she moved to Massy then to Orsay in the suburban district of Mondetour, where she spent most of her adolescence. She discovered rap with the album The Chronic (1992) by Dr. Dre and the first title of the group NTM, Je rap (1990) (published on Rapattitude, the first compilation of French rap). She chose her pseudonym of Diam's in 1995, a choice she explains as "I came across the definition of the word diamond and I learned that a diamond can only be broken by another diamond and that it is only made of natural elements". Beginnings (1994-2002) In 1995, at the age of fifteen, she attempted suicide by ingesting a large dose of medication. In 2003, she recounted her past (she was beaten by her companion at the age of 17) in a song called Ma souffrance. She formed a group called Mafia Tres. In 1997, the group released a first maxi of four titles where Diam's appeared on two tracks. Diam's is known, thanks to its participations on the first album of the Mafia Trece entitled Cosa Nostra in 1997, and thanks to an appearance on Phonograph with the rap group ATK. After her separation from the Mafia Tres, Diam's will release her first album, Premiere Mandat in 1999, but it was not a success, selling 9,000 copies. In 2001 the title Suzy broadcast on the compilation Original Bombattack on radio Générations 88.2. The song is picked up on the Internet. Suzy comes to the ears of Jamel Debbouze who becomes her friend and "guide". She then chained appearances in featuring, participation in radio shows. She finally prepares her second album, entitled Brut de femme and the record company EMI offers her a contract in April 2002. The project is abandoned following a restructuring of EMI while the two