Known at Vibe headquarters as the "hip-hop girl," her ability to run down even the most obscure facts about an artist, like the year their record was released, who produced said record, and who directed the video, stemmed from being a fan first. Pressure aside, the multihyphenate also had fun spending many weekday evenings attending music showcases and checking out different venues and artists who could eventually end up in Vibe's feature well. New York City had an electric energy in the '90s, thanks in part to hip-hop and R&B. "You hope that you pick the right people that are going to have longevity but, at the very least, you want to make sure that you're picking the people who are impacting the culture now and who are making some sort of contribution that you think is relevant." "We had to really think about who we thought were going to be the leaders of the culture and who was going to have longevity, or who was doing important stuff - even for the moment," Valdés explains. Working three to four months in advance, the Vibe staff kept their fingers on the pulse of Black pop culture, forecasting the hottest artists and albums and providing sharp critiques and investigative reporting. She was among a powerhouse lineup of Black thought leaders - including Joan Morgan, Greg Tate, Nelson George, Danyel Smith, and Kevin Powell - primed to showcase the breadth of hip-hop culture through their pens. Reflecting on those early years, Valdés admits this was a huge responsibility. "I'm so grateful because it totally started me on my path to tell these stories and have the opportunity to make sure that these artists were given the proper journalism attention, and to hopefully attract a wider audience to the music and the culture." "It was a beautiful experience," the Puerto Rican and Cuban American storyteller tells POPSUGAR. When the magazine got the green light to publish regular issues in 1993, Valdés interviewed for one of three editorial assistant positions - and landed one of the coveted spots on the masthead. She leveraged her connections, tapping someone she knew who "knew someone who knew someone" who worked at Vibe. Admiring the intentional design, stunning photography, and in-depth articles, the New York native finally discovered a way to fuse her love of magazines and hip-hop. Vibe, founded by music mogul Quincy Jones with Time Warner, published a test issue in September 1992 that not only left an impression on the world of music magazines, but also captivated true hip-hop fans - including Mimi Valdés.Ī magazine journalism senior at New York University at the time, Valdés got her hands on the preview issue with Treach of Naughty By Nature. But there was one magazine that was prematurely underestimated yet paved the way for hip-hop culture to prominently sit on newsstands. The rap-centered Source would later enter the media landscape in 1991, too. While mainstream magazines like Billboard and Rolling Stone were in no rush to prominently feature hip-hop acts, publications such as Right On!, Word Up!, and Hip-Hop Connection centered them, filling a growing void in print media. However, it had spread across the East and West coasts and specific pockets of the US, speaking intimately to Black and brown communities as both an outlet to address socioeconomic issues and a form of entertainment provided by rappers, DJs, dancers, and visual artists. Not yet a multibillion-dollar industry, hip-hop was still considered an emerging cultural movement hailing from New York City's most disenfranchised borough: the Bronx.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |