Ouch
In 2012, Atlanta native Trinidad James released one of the more tantamount viral sensations of the internet age. The music video for his molly-popping anthem “All Gold Everything”, as of August 2nd, has amassed just short of 19 million views on YouTube, and the song eclipsed the Top 40 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, peaking at #36. He was quickly–some might prefer the term “prematurely”–signed to Def Jam Records for a reported $2 million, and things went quickly downhill. His follow-up single, “Female$ Welcomed”, gained a little traction but not nearly as much as James and Def Jam would’ve hoped, and Trinidad proceeded to release a free project, 10 Pc. Mild, during the summer of 2013. 10 Pc. Mild came and went quite uneventfully, and shortly after, James endured two PR nightmares: 1. a dismal freestyle overseas at one of the most popular radio shows in all of hip-hop (Tim Westwood) and 2. Claiming the south “runs New York” on stage at a NYC show.
James was seldom heard from after that–the bold claims were made mid-November of 2013–and last night, he took to his Twitter account to reveal some pretty disheartening news.
I should tell yall. I got dropped by the Label. My Album is now free. If u hear ur beat or verse on it. I hope u want dap cuz i got no money
— Trinidad Jame$ (@TrinidadJamesGG) August 2, 2014
The news is disheartening, we wouldn’t wish “getting dropped” on anyone, but according to Julia Beverly, former EIC of Ozone Magazine, he sort of had it coming.
I distinctly remember having promoters literally begging to send trinidad james $$ & never could get any answers
— Julia Beverly (@JuliaBeverly) August 2, 2014
No word on what Trinidad’s next move is going to be, he hasn’t tweeted anything since breaking the news, but we wish him the best of luck.
