Danyel Smith

Danyel Smith Wilson (born Danyel Smith; 1965) is an American magazine editor, journalist, and novelist .[1] Smith is the former and first African-American editor of Billboard[2] and Vibe magazine,[3] respectively. She is author of two novels and a history of African-American women in pop music.[4][5]

Danyel Smith
Born1965 (age 57–58)
Oakland, California, U.S.
EducationJournalism
Alma materUniversity of California
Occupation(s)Journalist, magazine editor, Writer
Years active1989-present
Known forCelebrity interviews
Notable workShine Bright, More Like Wrestling, Bliss
SpouseElliott Wilson
Websitewww.danyelsmithwriter.com

Early life

Smith was born in Oakland, California,[6] and began writing at a young age through keeping journals and creating a newspaper called the Weekly Arrow in the fourth grade.[6] Following a relocation to Los Angeles at the age of 10,[7] Smith graduated high school in 1983 at St. Mary's Academy in Inglewood, California. Upon graduation, Smith returned to the Bay area to attend the University of California, Berkeley.

Career

Smith started her career in 1989 as a freelance writer, columnist and critic in the San Francisco Bay Area at the San Francisco Bay Guardian[8] and the East Bay Express. From 1990 to 1991, she served as the music editor of SF Weekly. By 1992, Smith was freelancing as a reporter for Spin magazine, where she wrote a pop culture/music column called "Dreaming America".[9] In 1993, Smith moved to New York to become Rhythm and blues editor for Billboard magazine. At that time, she was also reviewing live shows and recorded music for The New York Times.[10]

In 1994, she became music editor of what was then Quincy Jones' new Vibe magazine. Two years later, Smith was awarded the National Arts Journalism Program fellowship at Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism. After her year in Evanston, Illinois, she was named editor-in-chief of Vibe in 1997 where she was the first African-American, and first female editor.[11][12] While at Vibe, she also served as editorial director of its sister publication, Blaze, a monthly hip-hop magazine launched in 1998.[13] In 1999, she resigned and joined Time Inc. as an editor-at-large. There she consulted and wrote for magazines including Time, Entertainment Weekly and InStyle'[14] Throughout her career, Smith has served on a number of nominating committees, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[15] and National Magazine Awards.

Smith left Time Inc. in 2001 to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction at the New School University,[16] then published two novels and taught at the university level. During this period, Smith worked as a workshop leader at the Radcliffe Publishing Course in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and served on the adjunct faculty of the Writing Program at the New School University. While working on her second novel, Bliss,[17] Smith was on the guest faculty at Saint Mary's College of California. Smith was also a writer-in-residence at Skidmore College.

In 2006, Smith returned to Vibe as chief content officer of Vibe Media Group, responsible for the digital as well as the paper platforms. Smith's cover profile of Keyshia Cole was featured in Da Capo Press's Best Music Writing 2008. After three years, Smith had a short stint at The Washington Post's African-American political site, The Root,[18] before returning to the music industry publication Billboard as editor. Smith remained at Billboard until 2012 when she resigned.[19] Smith was a 2014 John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University.[20] In addition to creating the "book-shaped magazine" HRDCVR, Smith and her husband hosted a podcast on iTunes called Relationship Goals, in which they talk about pop culture, hip-hop music and how they make their relationship work.[21] From 2016 to 2019, Smith was culture editor at ESPN's The Undefeated.[22] Smith regularly appears on network and cable television outlets to provide commentary on entertainment and pop culture topics.[23][24][25] and hosts the podcast Black Girl Songbook on Spotify.

Books

Smith began writing fiction in 1996 and authored her first novel, More Like Wrestling (Crown), in 2003.[7] More Like Wrestling, a coming-of-age story of two sisters growing up in Oakland, drew critical praise and was a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller.[26] The New York Times Book Review called it "lyrical and original",[27] while The Washington Post said that Smith's "prose sings with precision".[28] The title comes from a quote from philosopher Marcus Aurelius: "the art of living is more like wrestling than dancing."[29] In 2005, Smith published her second novel, Bliss, about a female record executive navigating personal and professional challenges in the late 90s. Smith's third book, Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop (Roc Lit 101/Random House), previously titled “She’s Every Woman: The Power of Black Women in Pop Music,"[30] is a combination of memoir and criticism that tells the "intimate history of Black women’s music as the foundational story of American pop."[31]

HRDCVR

In 2014, while at Stanford University for a Knight Journalism Fellowship, Smith launched HRDCVR with her husband, Elliott Wilson. HRDCVR is a bound, hardcover culture magazine "created by diverse teams for a diverse world."[32] Smith and Wilson crowdfunded the project, raising over $67,000 with support from over 500 "backers."[33] The bound magazine was printed, distributed to funders, and made available for purchase on the project website in October 2015. A one-time publication with a print edition of 2,000, HRDCVR includes articles on Drake, Jamal Crawford, and Sasha and Malia Obama, and features contributions from Janet Mock, Big Boi, Michael Arceneaux, Jeff Chang, Kid Fury, and Tinashe, among others.[34] In addition to the magazine, Smith and Wilson produced a weekly newsletter, HRDlist, that featured similar content.

Works

Novels
  • More Like Wrestling (2003)
  • Bliss (2005)

Non-Fiction
  • "Introduction" in Tupac Amaru Shakur: 1971–1996 (1998)
  • HRDCVR (2015) with Elliott Wilson OCLC 933899052
  • Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop (2022)

Podcasts

Selected anthologized works
  • Interview with Don Cornelius in liner notes for Soul Train Hall of Fame: 20th Anniversary compilation album (1994)
  • "Ain't a Damn Thing Changed: Why Women Rappers Don't Sell" in Rap on Rap: Straight-up Talk on Hip-Hop Culture edited by Adam Sexton (1995)
  • "Dreaming America: Hip-hop Culture" in Rock She Wrote edited by Evelyn McDonnell and Ann Powers (1995)
  • "Janet Jackson" in Trouble Girls: the Rolling Stone Book of Women in Rock edited by Barbara O'Dair (1997)
  • "Hit 'em up: on the life and death of Tupac Shakur" in Step into a World: a Global Anthology of the New Black Literature edited by Kevin Powell (2000)
  • "Foxy Brown: She Got Game" in Hip Hop Divas by Vibe Books (2001)
  • "Foxy Brown is the Illest" in And it Don't Stop: the Best American Hip-hop Journalism of the Last 25 Years edited by Raquel Cepeda (2004)
  • "Foxy" (audio recording) on The Moth: Audience Favorites Vol. 1 (Disc 2) compilation album (2004)
  • "Black Talk and Hot Sex: Why Street Lit Is Literature" in Total Chaos: the Art and Aesthetics of Hip-hop edited by Jeff Chang (2006)
  • "Janet Jackson: Janet's Back," "Sean 'Puffy' Combs:...and Still Champion," and "Wesley Snipes: The Trouble with Wesley" in The Vibe Q: Raw and Uncut edited by Rob Kenner and Rakia Clark (2007)
  • "Keyshia Cole: Hell's Angel" in Best Music Writing 2008 edited by Daphne Carr and Nelson George (2008)
  • "After 30 Years, I Finally Went to a Barry Manilow Concert" in Shake it Up: Great American Writing on Rock and Pop from Elvis to Jay Z edited by Kevin Dettmar and Jonathan Lethem (2017)

Honors, awards, and fellowships

Personal life

Her mother is of Filipino and African-American descent. She has one younger sister, Raquel. In addition, she has a younger stepsister, Nicole, and stepbrother Keith. Smith currently lives in Southern California with her husband, Elliott Wilson. They were married in Los Angeles in June 2005.[40][41]

See also

References
  1. "Danyel Smith". Fresh, Bold, and So Def Tumblr. Hip-Hop Education Center at New York University. March 29, 2012. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  2. Lucas Shaw (March 9, 2012). "Billboard Publisher, Editor Out, Other Top Staffers Follow". The Wrap. Archived from the original on 16 November 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  3. "Danyel Smith, formerly of Vibe.com, named executive editor of The Root.com". Targetmarket News. September 8, 2009. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  4. "Shine Bright by Danyel Smith: 9780593132715 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Archived from the original on 2022-04-12. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  5. "Am I Allowed to Like Anything Podcast Episode 010". The Seam. 2015-10-05. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  6. Jeni Wright. "Danyel Smith Interview". Colored Girls. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  7. "Author Interview: Danyel Smith". The Sistah Circle Book Club. Archived from the original on August 7, 2003. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  8. Jeff Chang. "Urban radio rage". San Francisco Bay Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  9. "Dreaming America". Spin: 127. 1992. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  10. "At 28, Legendary Music Writer Danyel Smith Saw Rap's Future". Bustle. Archived from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  11. Moore, Teresa (1998-02-25). "FINDING HER GROOVE AT VIBE / Danyel Smith calls the shots at fast-rising hip-hop magazine". SFGATE. Archived from the original on 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  12. "Former Vibe Journalist Named Editor-in-Chief of Billboard". Madame Noire. January 11, 2011. Archived from the original on 6 August 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  13. "Blaze Magazine Ends Publication". The New York Times. 2000-05-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  14. Time 1999 all numbers. 1999.
  15. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation; Evans, Suzan; Stein, Seymour; Santelli, Robert; Weinger, Harry; Bessman, Jim; Blavat, Jerry; Bashe, Patricia Romanowski; Puterbaugh, Parke (2000). Rock and Roll Hall of Fame fifteenth annual induction dinner. The Archive of Contemporary Music. [New York, N.Y. : Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc.]
  16. "Smith Wilson, Danyel: Kindness for Weakness (a novel in progress) [Advisor: Zia Jaffrey] | The New School Archives & Special Collections". findingaids.archives.newschool.edu. Archived from the original on 2022-04-18. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  17. "Bliss by Danyel Smith: 9780307514608 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Archived from the original on 2022-04-13. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  18. Perez-Pena, Richard (September 8, 2009). "Former Vibe Editor Resurfaces at the Root". The New York Times Media Decoder Blog. Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  19. Shaw, Lucas (2012-03-28). "Billboard Hires New Top Editor: Former Blender, Maxim Honcho Joe Levy". Archived from the original on 2022-04-13. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  20. "Danyel Smith | JSK". Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2013-09-12.
  21. "danyelliott - Relationship Goals by Winner's Circle Media on iTunes". iTunes. Archived from the original on 2016-04-18. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  22. Nwulu, Mac (February 2, 2016). "ESPN Adds Five Acclaimed Journalists to The Undefeated's Editorial Team". ESPN MediaZone. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  23. Mara Schiavocampo, Jeff Johnson & Danyel Smith on Black Enterpris (Youtube). United States. 2010. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
  24. "Jon Pareles & Danyel Smith on Whitney Houston". Charlie Rose. February 13, 2012. Archived from the original on 22 November 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  25. Danyel Smith (August 31, 2012). "Remembering Chris Lighty, Hip-Hop Leader And My Friend". NPR. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  26. "San Francisco Chronicle Best-Sellers". San Francisco Chronicle. March 16, 2003. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  27. "Junot Díaz: By the Book". The New York Times. August 30, 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  28. Tramble, Nichelle (March 2, 2003). "Keeping House [Final Edition]". The Washington Post. pp. WBK 03. ProQuest 409459006. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  29. Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius. The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Antoninus. Archived from the original on 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  30. Lordi, Emily (April 17, 2022). "Danyel Smith Tells the History of Black Women in Pop". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  31. "Shine Bright by Danyel Smith: 9780593132715 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Archived from the original on 2022-04-12. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  32. Life+Times (11 June 2014). "Journalist Danyel Smith Talks New Publishing Endeavor "HRDCVR" | Life+Times". lifeandtimes.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-07. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  33. Life+Times. "Journalist Danyel Smith Talks New Publishing Endeavor "HRDCVR" | Life+Times". Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  34. "HRDCVRHRDCVR". 2016-03-22. Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  35. Limited, Alamy. "Honorees Danyel Smith and Elliott Wilson 7th Annual African American Literary Awards held at Melba's Restaurant New York City Stock Photo - Alamy". www.alamy.com. Archived from the original on 2022-04-10. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  36. "Class of 2014". JSK. Archived from the original on 2021-10-10. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  37. "Journalist in Social Media - Shorty Awards". shortyawards.com. Archived from the original on 2022-04-10. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  38. "ESPN Wins Eight NABJ Salute to Excellence Awards". ESPN Press Room U.S. 2019-08-13. Archived from the original on 2022-04-10. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  39. "NAACP Image Awards Nominees Press Release". NAACP Image Awards. January 12, 2023. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  40. "Danyel Smith Misses the BART". New York. May 9, 2008. Archived from the original on 27 September 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  41. "Danyel & Elliott: An Outdoor Wedding in Monterey Hills, CA". The Knot. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
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