Source:
Tori
“Torsion”
Howard
/
Golden
State
Entertainment
Information
and
truth
are
more
important
now
than
ever.
For
Che
“Rhymefest”
Smith,
it
is
a
part
of
the
mental
jewels
he
values
the
most,
standing
right
alongside
divine
forgiveness
and
love.
“We
have
to
discern
the
truth
from
the
lie
and
everyone
thinks
they
know
the
truth.
But
we
can
only
have
a
civilized
society
when
we
can
agree
on
a
common
truth,”
Rhymefest
tells
HipHopWired.
Catapulted
to
stardom
roughly
20
years
ago,
Smith’s
authentic
truth
helped
bolster
Kanye
West
to
success,
and
in
the
process,
led
to
a
whirlwind
of
commercial
and
economic
acclaim.
But
much
in
the
way
of
all
the
great
griots,
it
would
take
him,
as
he
puts
it,
“a
lifetime
to
learn
a
little.”
Inspired
by
the
iconic
dialogue
between
Nikki
Giovanni
and
James
Baldwin
in
1971,
Smith,
in
partnership
with
Golden
State
Entertainment,
is
set
to
drop
a
composition
that
takes
the
spirit
of
these
two
literary
geniuses
and
modernizes
it.
Releasing
February
9,
2024,
the
project,
titled
James
&
Nikki:
A
Conversation,
and
led
by
the
single
“Creator”,
comes
on
the
heels
of
Smith’s
pivotal
lecture
series
with
the
University
of
Chicago,
aptly
titled
Living
Life
Like
It’s
Golden:
How
Sports
+
Culture
=
New
Business
The
Capstone.
Source:
James
&
Nikki:
A
Conversation
album
cover /
Golden
State
Entertainment
Fueled
by
the
clips
of
the
two
giants
talking,
A
Conversation replicates
the
same
dynamic
and
delivers
the
true
and
lived
experiences
he’s
become
famous
for.
Accompanied
by
a
slew
of
female
emcees
from
Teefa
to
Saba
the
Godis,
A
Conversation
is
sure
to
generate
future
conversations
that
extend
from
the
ivory
towers
to
the
bottom
flats.
Hip-HopWired:
Mr.
Smith,
what
made
you
decide
to
trust
Golden
State
Entertainment
with
your
project
and
deliver
it
through
them
the
way
you
are?
Rhymefest:
I
like
that
it
isn’t
a
record
label,
but
it
is
an
entertainment
company.
So
when
Cap
D,
the
guy
who
runs
it,
and
I
got
together,
he
asked
me
the
one
question
that
made
me
want
to
roll
with
them.
He
asked,
“What
does
success
look
like
to
you
for
a
project
like
this?”
He
didn’t
say
we
need
to
get
this
many
streams,
or
mention
any
pre-determined
outcomes.
He
asked
me
what
success
was.
I
said
to
myself
if
entertainment
companies
went
to
artists
and
let
them
define
what
success
looked
like
for
them,
we’d
have
a
better
product.
You
would
have
a
more
authentic
product
and
artists
would
feel
more
free
to
deliver
things
without
thinking
they
have
to
subscribe
to
what
n*ggas
want
to
hear.
We
would
then
get
art
that
would
shape
our
society
instead
of
replicating
overused
art.
So
when
David
asked
me
what
success
looked
like
with
James
and
Nikki,
I
told
him
if
we
could
make
a
communal
impact
and
win
an
NAACP
Image
Award,
that
would
mean
our
community
accepted
you.
It’s
not
like
the
Grammys.
If
our
house
accepts
us
I
see
it
as
a
success.
If
this
project
can
turn
into
the
new
version
of
a
book
that
can’t
be
banned,
that’s
success.
That’s
what
made
me
trust
them.
They
asked
me
what
success
was
and
allowed
me
to
define
it.
Your
comments
have
me
thinking
about
how
you
and
others
work
in
academia.
Looking
at
all
of
the
people
from
Bun
B,
Lupe
Fiasco,
Naledge
and
9th
Wonder
at
the
intersection
of
academia
alongside
you,
what
role
do
you
all
as
rappers
play
in
the
next
50
years
of
rap?
Historically,
academia
created
the
Harlem
Renaissance.
Without
the
University
of
Chicago,
there’d
be
no
Harlem
Renaissance.
Academia
created
a
lot
of
systems
and
institutions
that
we
ascribe
to
whether
we
know
or
like
it
or
not.
For
many
of
us
who
never
graduated
college,
being
able
to
have
a
hand
in
forming
systems
matters.
I
ran
for
office
in
2013
and
as
an
artist,
I
was
working
at
the
Institute
of
Politics
for
the
University
of
Chicago
as
a
Pritzker
Axelrod
Fellow
teaching
seminars
about
the
intersection
between
music
and
politics
and
culture
and
politics.
For
one
seminar,
I
brought
in
designer
Don
C
and
I
asked
him
why
Donald
Trump’s
merchandise
out
sell’s
his.
He
gave
a
brilliant
answer.
He
said,
“Because
Trump
makes
people
feel
a
part
of
the
club.
Trump
has
the
cheapest
hats,
but
he
brings
people
in
and
makes
them
a
part
of
a
club
that
says
no
matter
how
bad
my
life
gets,
with
this
hat
on,
I’m
somebody.”
So
I
asked
Don
if
he
thought
he
could
help
a
political
candidate
win
an
election
with
a
clothing
brand
and
he
replied,
“Of
course
I
could.”
Whoever
thought
clothing
determined
elections?
It
used
to
be
buttons,
now
it
is
a
hat.
Another
example
comes
from
Stevie
Wonder.
For
years,
Congressman
John
Conyers
was
trying
to
get
a
National
Martin
Luther
King
Jr.
holiday
and
it
would
never
pass.
Congressman
Conyers
called
up
a
guy
named
Stevie
Wonder
to
help,
and
Stevie
made
something
that
we
know
today
as
the
Black
Birthday
song.
The
song
became
such
a
hit
that
the
next
year,
Senator
Helms
and
President
Reagan
passed
the
bill.
That’s
the
power
of
music
in
politics
and
your
life.
That’s
the
power
of
music
to
change
the
dynamics
of
legislation.
A
lot
of
us
artists
are
so
busy
trying
to
sell
a
product
that
we
don’t
know
how
powerful
the
energy
of
music
is
to
change
communities
and
policy.
Music
has
the
power
of
salvation.
It
has
the
power
to
save
the
souls
of
the
world
if
we
get
out
of
our
way.
We
gotta
stop
pimping
the
gift.
When
you
mentioned
the
word
salvation,
it
made
me
reflect
on
the
opening
track
from
A
Conversation
where
you
reference
the
Japanese
concept
of
Kintsugi.
Tying
that
into
salvation,
how
does
salvation
tie
into
marriage
and
your
life?
When
you
said
marriage,
it
made
me
think
because
I
am
on
my
third
marriage
and
my
wife
today
helped
break
the
curse
of
infidelity.
I’ve
always
loved
so
hard
and
always
been
a
cheater
and
could
never
get
out
of
my
own
way
of
loving.
My
wife
broke
that
curse
with
forgiveness.
When
you
listen
to
the
song,
“Creator,”
and
you
hear
Brittany
Carter
say,
“If
I
can’t
forgive
you
then
I’m
not
who
I
say
I
am,”
it
reminds
you
that
if
more
families
had
divine
forgiveness,
more
children
would
grow
up
with
healthy
families
and
stop
repeating
generational
curses.
In
regards
to
Kintsugi,
I
say
in
the
song,
“Every
time
I’m
hammered,
the
scars
reveal
the
beauty.”
In
Japan,
they
have
an
art
where
they
take
a
bowl
and
a
hammer
and
crack
the
bowl
with
a
hammer.
They
then
use
golden
glue
to
put
the
bowl
back
together,
and
what
you
find
out
is
that
from
all
those
fragmented
pieces,
you
get
something
more
beautiful
than
the
original
bowl.
That’s
how
we
are
as
a
community.
We
were
broken
and
reshaped,
and
that
reshaping
is
what
I
am
trying
to
get
across
with
this
project.
On
the
second
song,
you
speak
about
your
grandmother.
What
role
did
your
grandmother
play
in
your
life
and
in
these
times,
what
role
do
they
serve?
My
grandmother
taught
me
spirituality
through
listening
to
the
Commodores
and
their
song,
“Zoom,”
while
she
cleaned
the
house
on
Sunday.
Before
she
transitioned
we
sat
together
and
sang
the
O’Jays
song,
“Stairway
to
Heaven.”
In
spite
of
her
dementia,
she
remembered
all
the
words
to
all
the
songs.
I
dream
of
one
day
making
a
song
so
beautiful
that
someone
with
dementia
can
remember
the
words.
So
when
you
ask
what
my
grandmother
gave
me,
I
think
of
music,
love.
She
taught
me
how
to
love
and
transcend
inner
pain.
I
had
to
make
a
song
about
her
and
let
everyone
in
the
black
community
know
that
everyone’s
grandmother
isn’t
like
the
image
we
see
in
Tyler
Perry
movies.
“Everybody
grandmother
ain’t
Tyler
Perry,
big
and
hairy,
dignitary;
Jesus,
Mary,
she
prepared
me.”
I
believe
that
my
grandfather
being
by
my
grandmother’s
side
as
they
went
through
things
and
me
seeing
the
strength
of
my
grandfather
enduring
informed
my
perspective
on
love.
My
grandfather
was
a
Vietnam
Vet
who
would
have
flashbacks,
and
for
my
grandmother
to
endure
it
and
never
leave
him
meant
something
to
me
and
how
I
view
relationships.
That’s
why
I
haven’t
given
up
on
relationships
and
love.
On
Track
4,
you
speak
about
the
challenges
of
fame
and
health.
You
had
a
line
where
you
said
you
beat
the
streets,
but
couldn’t
beat
the
sweets!
That
piece
called
“What’s
In
It
For
Me”
is
the
future
me
debating
the
present
me
about
what
I’m
doing
presently.
Freddie
Old
Soul,
the
woman
on
the
track
though,
really
came
with
it
and
she’s
one
of
my
favorite
emcees
from
Chicago
and
period.
“She
said
Netflix
and
chillin’,
I
got
three
babies,
I
ain’t
saying
that
I
failed,
but
I
got
a
daughter.”
The
way
she
addressed
pregnancy,
her
career,
and
her
fear
of
not
being
able
to
leave
the
city
as
an
OG
legend
who
never
got
out
hit
me
in
the
heart.
These
are
things
we
go
through
every
day
because
we
project
the
battle
as
if
it’s
an
outside
battle
with
the
world
when
it’s
an
inside
battle.
Our
biggest
enemy
ain’t
the
government.
You
bought
all
those
guns
and
you
never
gon’
use
them!
The
biggest
battle
is
the
demon
who’ll
never
leave.
You
aren’t
who
you
thought
you
was,
you
are
who
you
taught
you
was.
And
until
we
reprogram
who
we
taught
we
was,
that’s
all
it
is.
Mr.
Smith,
you
had
some
bars
that
stuck
out
with
me
that
I
wanted
to
get
your
thoughts
on.
“Imagine
leaning
on
the
truth,
but
it
always
bends.”
Don’t
it
though!
The
truth
always
bends
because
we
are
constantly
changing.
Who
you
were,
you
aren’t
the
same
man
today.
The
truth
is
ever
bending
and
sometimes
we
try
to
stand
on
the
truth
as
if
it
isn’t
something
that
evolves.
Think
about
if
Jesus
Christ
or
Prophet
Muhammad
(PBUH)
came
back
today.
Everybody
would
be
trying
to
talk
to
them
about
the
Bible
and
the
Quran
as
if
they
knew
it
better
than
they
did!
On
the
same
track,
you
speak
on
the
difficulty
of
speaking
to
a
friend
with
a
god
complex,
so
to
speak.
How
do
you
maneuver
through
that
space
of
knowing
someone
for
20
years
and
seeing
them
play
with
the
idea
of
them
being
a
god?
Nobody’s
problem
is
my
problem.
And
I’m
not
even
saying
that
someone
has
a
god
complex.
To
me,
when
I’m
around
my
friend,
it
seems
like
other
people
project
that
onto
him
more
than
they
do
themselves.
We
blame
the
person
but
we
don’t
look
at
how
we
made
that
person
that
in
our
mind.
“Try
telling
Malcolm
X
bowties
ain’t
in,
try
telling
Mandela
not
to
go
to
the
pen.”
These
people
were
being
themselves
and
we
made
them
gods.
What
about
this
quote,
“People
ain’t
the
problem,
power
is!”
Right
now
I’m
in
the
town
of
Cody,
Wyoming,
a
town
of
10,000
people
who
don’t
look
like
you
and
I,
and
I
have
no
problem
with
any
group
from
the
Mormons,
Amish,
and
even
the
Trump
supporters
who
are
my
friends.
What
I’ve
found
is
that
the
people
aren’t
the
problem,
and
the
only
time
we
have
one
is
when
we
talk
about
the
news.
When
they
ask
me
about
Chicago
and
the
media,
I
realize
the
power
turns
us
against
one
another
and
tells
us
stories
that
aren’t
fully
true.
The
power
feeds
off
our
dissent.
When
we
come
together
and
compare
notes
we
find
so
many
similarities.
America
is
rotting
not
because
of
the
people,
but
because
of
power.
Source:
Tori
“Torsion”
Howard
/
Golden
State
Entertainment
February
makes
20
years
since
you
emerged
on
the
scene
working
on
The
College
Dropout.
Your
project,
James
&
Nikki,
comes
out
in
February.
How
do
you
feel
about
it
now?
I
love
the
early
2000s,
but
I’m
not
nostalgic
for
it.
I
love
the
early
’90s,
but
I’m
not
nostalgic
for
it.
It’s
hard
for
me
to
live
in
the
future
if
I’m
caught
up
in
the
past.
Everything
you
do
that’s
great,
any
accomplishment,
comes
with
the
gift
of
trauma.
Now
I
have
the
tools
to
deal
with
the
trauma.
Back
then
I
didn’t
have
the
tools
to
deal
with
it
so
I
hurt
myself
a
lot.
Phonte
has
this
line
where
he
says,
“My
greatest
teachers
were
masters
of
self-sabotage.”
With
that
said,
I’m
blessed
I
didn’t
kill
myself
with
what
I
was
doing.
It’s
easy
to
talk
about
the
hurt
done
to
me,
but
the
real
hurt
was
what
I
did
to
myself
and
how
I
passed
it
around.
I
will
spend
my
life
using
my
tool
kit
to
show
people
how
to
love
and
transcend
that.
We
go
through
pain
to
show
people
a
little
bit
of
how
not
to
experience
it.
Baldwin
said,
“It
takes
a
lifetime
to
learn
a
little
bit.”
It
took
me
20
years
to
learn
a
little
bit.
When
people
go
to
listen
to
A
Conversation,
what
is
your
greatest
hope?
Engagement.
I
want
people
to
put
their
phones
down.
I
pray
the
project
is
a
slight
inconvenience
in
people’s
lives.
There
is
a
quote
I
use
on
the
project
from
Baldwin
where
he
says
“God
needs
us
and
without
us,
there
is
no
God.”
Even
Cap
D
asked
me
to
take
that
part
out
and
I
said
I
can’t
because
if
we
take
that
part
out,
we
gotta
take
out
other
parts
people
may
not
like.
I
pray
this
upsets
our
psyches
because
that’s
the
only
way
we
will
grow.
James
&
Nikki
drops
in
February
during
Black
History
Month
right
before
Women’s
History
Month
so
it’s
the
perfect
time.
We
got
Brittney
Carter,
Helixx
C
Armageddon,
E.P.
Da
Hellcat,
Saba
The
Godis,
Freddie
Old
Soul
and
the
Infamous
Teefa.
I’m
blessed
that
all
of
these
women
came
on
these
tracks
and
gave
their
whole
spirit
to
it.
