Trinidad James is poised to be the next big thing, with his song "All Gold Everything" spreading throughout the blogosphere and radios everywhere. The catchy joint was his break, and now the instrumental is being used by many rappers for freestyles. However, little is known about the man himself, apart from rumors that he's only been rapping for ten months, he really came out of nowhere.
The Breakfast Club got a chance to talk to Trinidad James while he was in New York. He talks about his upbringing, having lived in several different locations, including Trinidad, Canada, Florida and New York. However, He currently resides in Atlanta. Trinidad also talks about why he started rapping, and confirms that it has only been around ten months that he's taken it seriously, as well he discusses his debut mixtape Don't Be S.A.F.E., which is out now.
As is often the case, Trinidad had an epiphany of sorts after he got out of a brief stint in jail, and that's what made him take rapping seriously. Prior to this, he had done some music here and there, with other guys. "I got into a little altercation, whatever, got a little charge, went to jail, got out of jail, and it made me sit back 'cause I'd never been to jail, like damn, what I got going on in life? I need some real accomplishments. So I was like you know what, I'm finna do this music, but I'm not doing it on no group, I'm just doing it by myself and see how it turns out, 'cause if I fail I fail by myself," Trinidad explained. "Took me about a month and a half to do the tape, I found some beats online that I liked, my cousin helped me out, sent me some beats. Put em together, did the cover, and just went from there, to be honest with you."
He spoke on the video for the "All Gold Everything," revealing his love for fashion. He was working at a men's urban wear boutique in Atlanta before his rapping took off, so it only makes sense, he said, "I'm really into fashion, I really wanted to make a statement."
As well, he explained how "All Gold Everything" came about. Turns out, it was the last song he did for Don't Be S.A.F.E., and that was mainly because he felt like he was missing a good hood tune. "It's actually the last song I recorded for the tape, the tape doesn't really have a real hood feel. So I was like I need something from the hood 'cause that's where I'm from. But I didn't want it to sound like every other Atlanta song, so when I heard that beat I was like, 'oh, okay.'"
Although Trinidad hasn't really blown up yet, major labels have already come calling. However, Trinidad says he's not interested in that right now, "I'm not really focused on it, me, personally, as an artist, I'm focusing on being a better artist." We'll have to see how he grows an artist, and if he's able to keep the momentum currently attached to his name.
Check out his interview below.