The Message
“I remember when New York ran this shit, when Dipset was turnt the fuck up…what happened? I remember when New York rap was the shit. And us from the South…we just did our own thing. But now we run y’all musically. That’s crazy…I’m not trying to start nothing but I looked up to New York music, but every [musician] who’s popping out of New York, you might as well tell he from Atlanta” – Trinidad James
Trinidad James’ remarks during a New York concert last week over the influence of Atlanta hip hop on New York radio stations lead to a wide social media reaction from Maino challenging him to a fight, to A$AP Rocky’s explanation that every region has its time, to questions what regionalism in hip hop looks like in present day.
Most responses dealt not with the part about Atlanta’s dominance or New York’s decline, but with Trinidad James himself, as a city that prides itself on blue collar toughness (see: the popularity of grinders such as John Starks and Paul O’Neill) got called out by a rapper who showed up wearing an unbuttoned leopard print shirt for his debut video.
(A$AP Rocky may be on to something. Look at the recent Hot 97 and Power 105’s “Top 50 Songs of 2013 So Far”. There’s no Atlanta artists on the R&B/Hip Hop top 10 as of November 23rd, with fears of the local sound growing stale.
Going by those lists above, the radio cycle in 2013 has landed on Drake, Jay-Z, and Rihanna.)
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The All-Gold Messenger
“I picked the wrong place to have a barbershop conversation”
“I only got into this music to take care of my momma…”
-Trinidad James on “The Truth Will Set You Free”
James later clarified, through tweets and the video explanation linked above, that his rant was an attempt to shine a light on New York rappers like Action Bronson, Smoke Dza, Joey Bada$$ and Troy Ave – artists he feels are shortchanged by New York’s radio hierarchy. He grew up listening to Dipset (you can tell by the emphasis on dress) and Jay-Z’s “Blueprint” (you can tell by the emphasis on….?) was the first CD he ever purchased.
That explanation did little to calm the flames. A new comer on the scene with two mixtapes under his belt, James is known more for his diverse wardrobe and sneaker game than lyrical ability, which is essential to gaining respect within New York hip hop circles. But there’s a good reason why lyricism isn’t a strong suit: while most MC’s have been rapping in some form since youth, James had only started rapping 9 months before “All Gold Everything” went certified gold. It’s fairy tales like this that make people move to Atlanta.
Regardless, “All Gold Everything” reached #6 on the Billboard Charts. So if your foundation of hip hop was built through lyrical nimbleness of Rakim, Kool G Rap, Wu-Tang, Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z and so on, how do you reconcile those numbers? You dedicate your entire childhood studying the craft, then Trinidad James shows up, and with one “popped a molly I’m sweatin” line, has 15,000,000 Youtube views?
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But music is emotional – we can’t explain why a song hits us a certain way (except for “Pony” – everyone knows that the only two truly timeless works of art are “The Odyssey” and “Pony”). Yet James’ popularity makes sense from Atlanta’s music timeline since the release of Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik in 1994. Trinidad Jameses, with gold chains, leopard print vests, and vast sneaker collection are possible when kids grew up listening to, watching, and studying Andre 3000. If Andre 3000 is Bill Parcells, then Trinidad James is Josh McDaniels.
As for radio, look at the range of Atlanta hip hop artists who reached #1 or #2 on the Billboard Charts. You have Cee-Lo’s version of soul music, crunk with Lil Jon, D4L’s snap music, the aggressive synths of T.I and Young Jeezy, to all of the above in Outkast. Atlanta not only nurtured each of these movements, but pushed them to the top.
That same cycle pushed Trinidad James – who quit managing a boutique clothing store to pursue music, released a song with a meme-able line about popping molly, and went gold – all in 9 months. That openness to new sound is what makes Atlanta’s music scene so dynamic in the first place. And it’s the same openness that makes purists scoff at James. Success isn’t supposed to be as easy as gold chains, gold teeth, and memorable punchlines. But it was in Atlanta. And for a generation of talented New York MCs who put in the work but never achieved mainstream success, that’s what they may resent the most.
