Like every hip-hop journalist before me along with some of my contemporaries, one of my wishes was to get a byline in The Source. This is before it became more like a badly-run record label than our Rolling Stone. Along with Slam, The Source was one of the only places I could see bylines with Latino surnames like Rodriguez. So in 2004, once Adam Matthews introduced me to Jerry L. Barrow, one of the last fine editors from The Source, it was on. JB can attest; I hounded him every week until he gave me an assignment. Our phone convos would go like this: “Heeey, Jesus,” he would say. “Hey Jerry, how have you been? How’s the family?,” I would ask. Mind you, I didn’t even know his fam at that point.
In either case, I called so much that he finally decided to give an assignment. It was a “Microphone Check” on F.A.T.S., Rodney Jerkins’ artist who never dropped an album. I eventually received a kill fee because the piece didn’t run but I eventually did get my Source byline. It may sound corny or insane now but it was one of the proudest moments in my life. Not only did I get my name is my book but a first name like “Jesus” I’m sure I inspired other Latino kids to grab their pen and pad. Why did I drop this story now? Well, because the rejuvenated Source dropped their 20th anniversary issues this week with Nas and LL Cool J on separate covers. Covers shot by BK’s own Spike Lee. So for the first time in years I’m gonna cop The Source to save it with the rest of my mags. Now if they could only figure out a way to pay some of peeps for their work.
Uno,
Jesus
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