Popped a Molly and Confused About Sweating? Trinidad James, Explained
In 2012, it's very possible for a rapper to get signed to a major label after the success of just one viral hit song — for evidence of that, one needs only to look at artists like Azealia Banks or Kreayshawn. But a new rapper, Trinidad James, has burst on to the scene in the last few weeks armed with a single that has some catchy lines about "molly" and "sweating."
Let's break this guy down for y'all.
So who is this guy and where did he come from?
His name is Trinidad James. He's 25-years-old and he hails from Atlanta. He's only been rapping for a year and he already has a song in the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. His hometown is important to his story because he's part of a new scene of rappers some people are calling "New Atlanta."
So why not "Atlanta" James?
Well he's originally from Trinidad and Tobago and had a strong accent when he was a little kid.
Why should I care about this guy again?
He's the new thing right now. His song "All Gold Everything" is embedded above and it's pretty great. He also has a mixtape called "Don't Be S.A.F.E.." The title's last word stands for "Sensitive As Fuck Everyday."
Why so much gold?
It's his thing. His teeth are plenty messed up and he sports a busted gold grill. He also has a song on his mixtape called "Gold on my Macbook," which is something that we could really get into.
So, what's the deal with the molly?
Molly, ecstasy's hipper cousin, has been big in rap for a while now. In the middle of "All Gold Everything," James raps, "Popped a molly, I'm Sweating (whoo!)" and then gleefully repeats himself. The catchphrase has been immortalized in a video that loops the popular line for six minutes straight.
James spoke to Complex about his shoutout to the drug:
"Molly is such a party drug that when you do it, it's like automatically your mind just kicks in like whew, you're ready to go. That's where that came from."
Do other rappers actually respect this guy?
In a recent interview with MTV, Big Boi called Trinidad James "real A-town," which is a huge compliment coming from one of Atlanta's most accomplished rappers. Also, A$AP Rocky and his crew, A$AP Mob, accompanied him on stage in New York earlier this week.
So is Trindad James going to be around forever?
Statistically speaking, probably not. But he's really fun!
Also he's being scouted really heavily by major labels. Billboard claims that he's in talks with Def Jam and Atlantic Records. They also say that he's been spotted coming in and out of Def Jam HQ several times recently.
He told The Village Voice last week that he wants to "make songs with Adele eventually." So there's always that to look forward to.