There are moments you don’t forget — Quincy Jones
was on one end of a call, and Joe Jackson on the other. And me… listening closely, hearing the architecture of power as it moved between them. Because Quincy was never just a producer.
He was a bridge—across genres, across generations, across the business of culture itself. I shared a piece of that story with founder Tiffany Walden — but that was only a fragment (and she’s got more).
If you want the fuller context, I mapped Quincy’s impact on culture @thetriibechicago — a Black woman-owned media organization. Link at my stories
📖 p.s. can u tell my memoir projects are loading 👀
🧐 p.p.s. re above, it was actually my first days as EiC
what have i learned?
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my family my friends are royalty.
i can be me and be loved.
good nurses are godly
communicative doctors are miracles
home goods saves lives
live music still nourishes me
the west coast is still the best coast
having a fully functioning body is a privilege
even the most genius people can be afraid of their genius
i love my new office
i miss fully exercising
the celtics are going back to the finals
i miss fully cooking
i am counting my blessings
me — in conversation with the great one
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thank *you* @mariahcarey 🙏🏽 this interview took place like six months ago in Southern California and puts funny how my mindset slipped into our conversation. you know how i live for Black women to Shine Bright and to receive the credit we are due — and i just really wanted MC to relish and happily claim her songwriting brilliance (you can hear me toward the end). there’s so much more to come from me and this amazing @nytimes@nytmag ‘The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters’ project — i wrote about a bunch of geniuses, there’s a 30-minute long version of this interview, and i interviewed someone else on camera 👀as well 🎶 links and bts at my stories and thank you as ever for supporting my work xxoooo
physical /occupational therapy is no joke -#gratefulthankfulblessed
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me and these @toryburch hoops go back. i was in vegas, miserable and mourning due to a disastrous season that had gone on too long. i bought these earrings, and some black flip flops. sat in the sun with the coldest lemonade ever and i made a decision. wasn’t sure then if i was going to keep my promise to myself.
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but sure did.
however we spelled it 😜 ask me anything @reddit 👀 today
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My name is Danyel Smith, and I’m a music journalist, culture/sportswriter, and author. Also a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine, former editor-in-chief of both VIBE and Billboard, and host of the Spotify Original / NAACP Image Award-nominated Black Girl Songbook podcast. I’ve interviewed everyone from Whitney Houston to SZA to Lionel Richie (and Jalen Hurts and Simone Biles). I serve on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame selection committee, and wrote the book Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop. For @nytimes 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters, I conducted interviews with Mariah Carey and Babyface, and wrote essays about them – as well as Carole King, Smokey Robinson and Valerie Simpson.
Ask me anything about the songwriters project, my journalism journey and more. I’ll answer questions from 10-11 a.m. PT on Friday May 8
Danyel Smith
u/nytimes
r/popculturechat
My essay on the genius of Valerie Simpson
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aka @valeriesashford is out this week in The New York Times.
One of the 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters, Valerie and her late husband/creative partner Nickolas Ashford are a blueprint for how devotion, intimacy, and emotional precision can live inside pop music. As I wrote:
“Take the lyrics and lilt of a song like ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ (1967), just one of the duo’s dozens of hits: ‘Ain’t no valley low / Ain’t no river wide enough, baby / If you need me / Call me / No matter where you are / No matter how far.’ Their language — marked by rich, tactile detail and a colloquial urgency — has quietly shaped how generations of songwriters articulate devotion.”
I love when my work aligns so clearly with the mission of Black Girl Songbook and my book Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop.
Links, and more are at my Stories. ✨ ps she and Ashford co-wrote “I’m Every Woman” and so many more
![radio is the @samsanders show @npr’s @kcrw 9am PT [May 4]and at least i got to the damn gym](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6739654752607044562754_0_9b90e00dd95d2e20e5a238c7bf0b8664.jpg?o=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&h=05984a7156a3218828f137a816d2f25e)
