“Tupac Shakur: a fiery ferocious MC, an auspicious actor, a man so beautiful he made you wanna touch the screen, the photograph, him. He made you wanna see those vanilla teeth, the wet sweet wild eyes, the fleshy lips, the lashes like fans like feathers on his fudgy skin. He made you want to kill him, defend him, make him your baby. He dared you to find the lies, prove he’s crazy. Tupac keeps you searching, even now, for the line between him and the him he put out there for you to see, for the line between being and acting, between how one rolls through life and how one rocks the microphone. Crazy motherf*cker. Coward. Sucker. Sexist. Sex symbol. Superman. Provocateur. Hero.” ”
— Danyel Smith, (Tupac Shakur)
@TRINIDADJAMESGG + THE POWER OF INFLUENCE
The name Trinidad James triggers various responses, ranging from excitement to disgust to sheer amazement that this is actually happening in the world of hip hop/rap. The wheel is not being reinvented either and music lovers who watch trends know this to be true. While some old heads might come for me by saying this, I see no big difference between him and ODB. Yes, that statement might be viewed as musical sacrilege by the elite but take a minute to remove bias and LOOK at James. Now go LOOK at Big Baby Jesus. I’ll give you that lyrically, Dirt McGirt is better. Realistically speaking though, EVERYONE didn’t know what Osirus was talking about in EVERY song.
Never mind my comparison, the real thing at work here is renowned and LOVED artists who are co-signing AND expressing interest in working with the entertainer that is Trinidad James. This is a form of influence that people sometimes overlook and most times how a “nobody” becomes an overnight sensation. To quote James, “Don’t believe me? Just watch.”
“@fatbellybella Yes. I love Trinidad James - All Gold Everything [tweets his video from youtube] I like how many times he say nigga in one sentence. Beautiful.
@fatbellybella “Don’t believe me jeh watch” Trinidad James
@fatbellybella I like a lot of artists but I BELIEVE him. #trinidadjames
@fatbellybella I got to believe u in order to feel u.”
For everyone who is unfamiliar with the Twitter handle @fatbellybella, this is the astounding Erykah Badu.
“@BigBoi Yup RT @NotFunnyRamon: @BigBoi you gonna work with Trinidad James?”
BigBoi is none other than one half of the legendary group, Outkast. His entire body of work, solo and with Mr. Benjamin aka Andre 3000, speaks for itself.
“@danamo …Dunno if we’re getting in to see Trinidad James tho. zany out front.
@danamo got in. for Trinidad. #NYC
@ElliottWIlson Trinidad at work [RT of @danamo Instagram post of Trinidad James on the stage in New York tonight”
Danyel Smith (@danamo) and Elliott Wilson are one of the Power Couples ANYONE in MUSIC should know. Not only do they LOVE a wide range of music, they have become authorities on hip hop. Being an Editor at Billboard magazine and former Editor-in-Chief of VIBE magazine, if you have managed to catch Danyel’s eye, the universe just might be operating in your favor. Her husband, Elliott Wilson? Former Editor-in-Chief of XXL Magazine and currently the CEO and founder of Rap Radar. Someone else whose reach in the music world can have you connected to your favorite rappers rapper.
Even though the above tweets were done within the last 48 hours, I’ve been compelled to highlight Trinidad James because he hasn’t been on the music scene for long. He’s fairly new to THIS, however, he has something that draws people in, whether they like him or not. THAT’S what makes MEMORABLE stars and in my opinion, he is well on his way. The last time I felt like this about an artist, I hyped him to whoever would listen. Being from Oakland, California, pushing any hip hop artist from New York was somewhat frowned upon but I know magic when I hear it. The New Yorker who drew me in had a gift that he was able to share with the world. He went on on to push the envelope and make timeless music for EVERYONE. Shawn Carter turned 43 years old yesterday and I am proud to say I was able to watch his rise to fame, notoriety, wealth, and immeasurable respect in the music world.
While it might be premature to make that same prediction for Trinidad James, the more reputable influence on his side, the more likely his ascent to a level beyond even his own dreams. This isn’t about lyrical ability, it’s about dreams coming true. Many of us will never get an iota of the same chance. The power of influence and connectors is the difference between wishing on a star and living the dream. I wish him nothing but the best.
If you possess any of those gifts, share them by making someones dreams reality….
'Listen to Barry Manilow ballads, then listen to Whitney Houston ballads. Check, as we used to say in hip-hop, the technique. If it wasn't broke Clive Davis saw little need to fix it. The songs Davis made with Manilow and Houston are the songs I loved. Besides, what other way had I to judge? My mother, after all, had to tell me when I was 13 who Booker T. Jones III's dad was. I thought like I used to think about all songs when I was young—that every artist's song was purely autobiographical, and so 100 percent meaningful. And if I categorized at all, it was based on what radio station played what. So I thought Barry was rock 'n' roll—and not rock in a "white" frame. Rock in a frame marked "real."'
npr.orgdisclosure: i wrote the piece for @nprmusic
An Hour-Long Tribute to Tupac Shakur
Michael Eric DysonAn Hour-Long Tribute to Tupac Shakur
For a more personal take on Tupac the young artist, we turn to someone who knew him in the early days of his career. Danyel Smith, editor-in-chief of Billboard magazine, knew Shakur before he achieved the status of hip-hop icon, and we explore with her some of the inner workings of the man, as well as his early songs including “Brenda’s Got a Baby” and “Dear Mama.”
Finally, we get help decoding some of the messages behind Tupac Shakur’s music with “hip-hop” professor James Peterson, professor of English at Lehigh University. We deconstruct the music from an intellectual and artistic perspective, and look at the some of contradictions that characterized Shakur as both a socially conscious artist and a gangster rapper.
Via The Michael Eric Dyson Show
Danyel Smith @Danamo is @BillBoardDotCom's Editor!
Yesterday, Danyel Smith announced via Twitter, that she was “on the move” to her first day as Billboard’s Editor.
After naming countless A-list celebrities that have graced the cover (including Robert Dinero, Gwen Stefani and Eminem who are white), she says “we are so flattered that Robin Thicke wants to be on the cover of Vibe and we are gonna hope that he gets to that level eventually.” Source
An award winning writer and author, her blog, TheSmithian.com, is one of the sites I look to for relevant information on politics, literature and to catch a “meaningful glance” or the “look of the hour.”
Did you know this is the second time she’s worked for Billboard? I found this earlier interview she did with the Little Pink Book, here, she shares…
“A history? No. A story, really. A tale from the dark side. In this book, as in VIBE, hip hop is all. It's always there, sometimes the brain, sometimes the bones, sometimes the heart beating under the skin. "Hip hop writers" are often accused of being "too close" to the music, to the artists, and to the scene. Hell yes, we're close to it. We love this shit. And we have high expectations of it. Are we close to hip hop? Yes. Where else to be but close to the truth? Close to art and mystery and metaphor. To the singularity of voice. The magnificence of ingenious sampling. But when we show hip hop the respect it deserves by critiquing it, everyone gets mad. Artists cry foul, we say your ball. Many of us live our lives to the beat of this wondrous music. ”
—Danyel SmithBook Review: More Like Wrestling
Danyel Smith, revered music journalist and current EIC of Billboard magazine, ventured off into the world of fiction with this story of Pinch and Paige, two sisters growing up in Oakland in the mid 1970s to early 80s.
While in junior high school, Paige and Pinch are allowed to live in their own apartment inside a victorian house, while their mother figures out how to handle her marriage to their drunk and abusive step father. Their adventures on their own lead to them meeting a group of friends who initially stick around to have fun up until adulthood, when they are eventually touched by the burgeoning drug trade, and things get a lot more serious.
My love for this book is deeply rooted in my love for Oakland. The novel is filled with people, places, things, and events that I grew up around, and expecially things that my mom grew up around. My city was the central theme of the book, and it brought back so many memories. This is the first time ive ever read about Oakland in a novel from a Black girls perspective. I am grateful to Smith for writing such a story.
I did have issues with some of the writing style, though. With some of the chapters jumping around the timeline, along with Paige’s diary entries, and sometimes not knowing who the current narrator was, I found myself getting confused. I also felt like there was times when the author was too poetic, and much of the lengthy descriptions could have been cut. There were parts in the middle when I just wanted to give up.
Overall though, I enjoyed the story. The author’s intricate details were so descriptive that I wonder if this novel was truly fiction. I absolutely loved the ending, and im so happy that I pushed, through.
I’d recommend this to all Oakland/Bay Area/California natives. I’d also recommend it to those interested in reading of familial bonds, coming of age stories on the west coast, the strength between sisters, or stories that dabble in the development and the effects of the inner city drug trade.
B-
