“And biscuits.” I waited on confirmation of this idea. “Lamont loves smothered pork chops,” I told Terri. In Terri’s office one morning, I told her I was going to try to get home earlier, and to cook more, as I had in Oakland. As Carey faced snubs at the 1996 Grammys, Smith dealt with “colleagues who undermined and/or didn’t respect taste or position or both.” Even more compellingly, Smith reflects on her time as an editor at Billboard and Vibe (she eventually headed the masthead at both) from the Nineties into the aughts, championing acts including Carey during the singer’s incredible reign. In ‘Mariah,’ she meditates on Carey’s genius the ever-relevant diva helped push Atlanta rapper Latto’s “Fantasy” sampling “Big Energy” to the top of the Billboard charts just last month. Across 11 chapters, Smith recalls the lives, accomplishments, myths, and realities of a range of artists, from the Dixie Cups to Mariah Carey - whose chapter is excerpted below.

Smith does her part to honor Black women’s musical and cultural contributions with her new book Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop. In a call with Rolling Stone from her Southern California home, with her Cairn Terrier puppy playing with a squeak toy in the background, she fires off some means of respecting the genius of Black women in pop: documentaries focused on their art and not their traumas, magazine covers from the start of their careers, and bookings on late night television, for starters. This is not an abstract goal to the legendary music journalist. To get free shipping and 30% your first order, go to and use code FANTI.Įmail: (Senior Producer Laura Swisher)įANTI is produced and distributed by MaximumFun.Danyel Smith knows charts and awards are flawed metrics of success, but she also understands they are the ones we have, and wants to see Black women earn their due. Microdose Gummies deliver perfect, entry-level doses of THC that help you feel just the right amount of good. Danyel gives a primer on the need to tell the full history of our woefully unappreciated Black, female artists, and why it’s long past time for Black journalists to tell our stories. Her new book is Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop. This week Tre’vell and jarrett are thrilled to have the legendary editor, writer and author Danyel Smith. We’re trying out a new format for those occasions when our guest is so extraordinary, it’d be a disservice to limit the conversation to just thirty minutes.

Shine Bright by Danyel Smith