People can sell anything these days. And apparently, selling a 2013 version of Martin Lawrence's "Jerome" character teamed with elementary yet catchy lyrics can be a multimillion dollar hit with labels like Def Jam. While some folks think this doesn't equate talent, Trinidad pretty much says he doesn't care. He believes in his sound and his lyrics...and "doing him" has gotten him this far.
The ATL "rapper", who was working in a clothing store called Ginza Boutique just a year ago, is now living out his dreams. He's also covering this week's issue of Rolling Out as the mag calls this era, Hop Hop's Golden Age. Here's a few of his quotes from the issue:
On how exactly he became an overnight sensation
“I didn’t do anything too crazy when it comes to making this music. I just believed in my sound and I believed in my lyrics. It was easy for me to believe because all I did was rap about my life. I feel like I have a good ear for beats, picking the right beats and I’m big on sound placement — and it came out dope. It didn’t matter to me what anyone said, it was dope as hell to me. And it ended up getting me pretty far, pretty fast. And I thank God for it.”
On why he thinks he receives negative criticisms
“My success came so fast — and it’s different. A lot of times in life when we don’t understand something, 8 out of 10 times, we’re gonna go negative before we go positive. It’s very rare that something happens that you don’t understand and you [respond with] ‘Oh, that’s good.’ You’re gonna think it’s bad because you don’t understand it. And with misunderstanding, comes negative thoughts. That’s just how life is. It’s something to get used to. But it is what it is. I gotta do me."
On what inspires him musically
“I just appreciate music, man. I listened to so much stuff over the years. [And] there’s music that I hear currently and I think ‘I love this’ and I love it for it what it is. And there’s music I heard back in the day that I loved in the same way. Who am I to say that because these people did it a long time ago, it’s better than right now? I just appreciate music as a whole.”
On how other rappers treat him
“Lots of [older rappers] gave me their fair share of [praise] — [saying] they’re proud of me and [telling me] to just do me,” James explains. “Whatever that consists of — just do me, because they see the originality in it. They understand it because they’ve been down this road. When you’re a real listener of music, and not just a radio type of person, you get a better understanding of my music, because you’ll listen to it for what it is. Then you’ll be all right. Most people that come out usually sound like someone. But I really can’t think of a rapper that I sound like. I really have my own unique style.”
Will be interesting to see how his career plays out. Check out RollingOut.com for more.
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