Hit-Boy is genuinely surprised his iconic "N***s In Paris" record with Jay-Z and Kanye West gained Diamond status from the RIAA ... but he'll take the honor.
TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the ultra prolific producer as he cooked inside his studio, and he says his job as a musician is simply to craft beats to inspire artists ... and that's exactly what happened with Jay and Ye when they hopped on the 'NIP' beat.
Released in 2011 as part of their "Watch The Throne" album, the song became the highlight attraction of their global tour ... with them performing the song multiple times in a row each night — including 11x in Paris!!!
The song also won Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 2013 Grammy Awards ... and HB admits Ye removed layers of instrumentation from the original beat in order for it to be palatable to those types of audiences.
"NIP" is HB's 2nd Diamond plaque following his work on Drake and Travis Scott's "Sicko Mode" but he says there's plenty more gas in his engine.
His father Big Hit was released from prison after a 9-year stint last month, and the two linked with director THIRDEYERAZ for a half dozen videos and counting .. and HB tells us the new tunes will appear on his upcoming "Surf or Drown 2" album.
One album HB is not a part of is Nas' "King's Disease 4" ... but he says it's still all love!!!