Author Sidney Thomas highlights DC hip-hop in new book

Earlier this week, Examiner.com shared part one of the Q & A with author Sidney "DCSuperSid" Thomas who penned the book Diamonds in the Raw. Thomas is a DC native who has covered DC hip hop for the past decade, documenting hip hop events in photos and video.

The new book, Diamonds in the Raw, offers exclusive interviews with DC's known and unknowns in the DC hip-hop game and explosively addresses issues of  haters in the game and DC's slickest music secret, payola in the radio business.

"Everyone always asks why you hear the same songs on the radio, and local artists don't get any airplay, says Thomas. "The funny thing is that I never planned to write about DC radio stations, but every artist was complaining about them. The chapter I wrote only scratched the surface about the radio game. There have been entire books written about payola and other ways independent musicians get screwed by radio stations."

Did Thomas' research that led to the underbelly of hip hop music in DC twist his original idealism about the genre?

"I think DC is in a really good place - primarily because we have so many young artists making moves right now," says Thomas.  "The DMV Movement is going into 2010 with a tremendous amount of energy. If Wale blows up it's going to help, but even if he doesn't - the DMV is still going to be O.K."

Thomas finishes up the interview with Examiner.com telling us what we can expect in the book, what his plans are now that the book is completed and what is probably more of an impact on DC hip hop than Wale and Tabi Bonney combined.

Examiner.com: What are some things people can expect to read in the book Diamonds in the Raw?

Thomas: [They can expect to read about ]the development of DC Hip-Hop, the truth about DC radio and the legacy of accomplishment.

The main problem is that DC hip-hop evolved in a non-linear fashion. In New York it's easy to see the "family tree". Kool Herc - Bambaataa - Kurtis Blow - Run DMC - LL Cool J, and so on. In DC it wasn't so easy, the hip-hop movement started, stopped, then started again. The Section 8 Mob and Nonchalant did their thing, then DC rappers went underground for a long time. I think I did a pretty good job of bringing everything together.

I think you'll learn a lot of things you didn't know. How many people knew Stinky Dink was signed to Luke Records? How many people knew that Vinnie D. was signed with Snoop Dogg? I also uncovered some nice tracks I didn't know about. Nonchalant did an incredible remix of her song "Until The Day" featuring Faith Evans.

Examiner.com: Who should read this book?

Thomas: I think everyone in DC should read my book - especially people who are interested in the music business. One of my goals is to get my book into the school system. If you went to a DC public school you know they have a class about the history of Washington, DC. I want Diamonds In The Raw to be used like any other history book.

Examiner.com: What impact does the mainstream success of DC natives Tabi Bonney and Wale have on the area?

Thomas: I don't think there's any doubt that Wale and Tabi have had a positive effect on the DC music scene. However, the amount of their influence is over-rated. I think the promoters who are hosting events every week are much more influential.

Dudes like X.O., Young Sleep, Troy (Trillion Cutz), Tyrone Norris, Bro. Maniac, 20 Bello, and Text Sosa, are giving artists the opportunity to perform on a regular basis. Dre "All Day In The Paint" has also been hosting shows for a long time. A lot of people are promoting hip-hop shows now, but Dre was hosting open mic events even before it became popular.

Examiner.com: What are your plans now that the book is completed?

Thomas: I worked on the book for about a year and a half. I actually finished writing most of it by March, but the editing and printing red tape took about 6 more months. Self-publishing was definitely a learning experience. 

I'm going to focus on promoting Diamonds In The Raw for the rest of the year. I also want to dedicate more time to my website, www.realnewsmag.com.  I kind of neglected my website when I was writing my book. I have several freelance projects I'm working on right now, and eventually I would like to write another book.

Read part one of the interview HERE.

The book is available now at Borders Book at the Capital Centre (Largo, MD); Howard University Bookstore (Georgia Avenue, NW); The Literary Joint Bookstore (Forestville, MD). Email Thomas at DCSuperSid@aol.com for additional information.

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DC Hip-Hop Music Examiner, Khadijah “Moon” Ali-Coleman is a writer and performer based in the DC metro area. She is editor of the book Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul which is available for purchase on Amazon.com, Barnes&Nobles.com and most online stores. She is also co-founder of Liberated Muse Productions, production group of the Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest held annually in DC.