Have You Heard Of Trinidad James?

If you hang out a bit, or shop at FlyKix, you’ve most certainly seen this dude Trinidad James around town. I actually just found out that he rapped a few days ago. Ever since then damn near everybody I run into is either asking me if I’ve heard of him or listened to his music yet.

So far, everybody has the same thing to say about it…”entertaining.”

Is he rapping about anything new under the sun, not from what I can hear, but he does provide an entertaining listen nonetheless. Some of the songs change pace halfway through, making you feel like you’re in the club and DJ just did a hellafied mix.

You can also tell that he soaks up alot of game and style from the spots he frequents and works at because you can hear alot of local and national influences in this music ranging from Waka to Wiz.

But the thing I’ve grown to like the most about listening to this is ironically, how “sloppy” it gets at times. Dude has a very unique voice and a delivery that teeters that fine line ODB used to walk. It’s obviously slurred, but it might be on purpose at times. In that, it makes me feel like I am really talking to a fellow Atlantan in the sense that I understand every word coming out of his mouth, but someone who listens too slow may not be able to catch it.

Some ears are going to draw a Lil B comparison. Which is fair in some regards because his “whoo!” adlibs from time to time. But I wouldn’t say that buddy has a stream of consciousness flow. If he’s talking about sneakers, women, hanging out, kicking it or relationships, he’s going to finish the thought.

Not declaring that Trinidad James is going to be the next big thing, I’d like to see him perform before I lend any props or anything drastic. But, I will say that dude usually lights up a room when he walks in, so it will be interesting to see if he can turn that into something. He’s probably the first person I’ve seen stick out like that since Young Dro came out back in ’05. Check out his debut project Don’t Be S.A.F.E. (Sensitive As Fuck Everyday) below. My personal favorites are “Givin’ No F*cks” and “Southside” which are both at the end.

UPDATE: I saw Trinidad James perform at Indie Fest. It was his first ever show and he probably had the livest set. Even though he had a lot of people jumping on stage with him, you still knew that it was him rapping. This shit spreading through the city like the flu right now. First time I’ve seen this since Waka.