9/30/10
(He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper: Shaheem Reid and Jayson Rodriguez at the 2010 VMAs)
At the onset of my career as a journalist, I had a phone conversation with Chuck Creekmur, one of the co-CEO’s and founders of AllHipHop.com, and he guaranteed me that writing for his site would lead to other opportunities in media. Chuck specifically suggested to me that I write for the news section because so many eyes read it each day. Having written for my college newspaper in Delaware and being an avid reader of MTVNews.com, I replied yes and added, with admiration and, perhaps, too cheeky in my enthusiasm as a recent graduate, “I wanna be like Shaheem Reid.”
Yesterday, Sha announced on Twitter that he was leaving MTV after what, to most people, seems like an eternity: ‘01-‘10, is the way he put it in his note.
In my working capacity, from positions at AHH to VIBE, I always had a mentor on staff that helped me grow as a writer and a professional, from Chuck to Hyun Kim, Serena Kim (no relation), Noah Callahan-Bever, Benjamin Meadows-Ingram, Erik Parker and Mimi Valdes. By the time I got to MTV, the operation there was such a refined situation, to me, the hip-hop team –- Sha, Sway, Joseph Patel, etc. — had won multiple championships (“Mixtape Monday,” “My Block,” the “Greatest” debates that preceded “Hottest MCs,” etc.). After I got hired I shot Sha and company an email saying, I’m just trying to be Toni Kukoc to your Jordan and Pippen; at the time it seemed like a good metaphor, thinking back now, maybe not so much. (Ron Harper?)
At MTV, I quickly learned it was a sink or swim atmosphere.
Two weeks into the job, on the night of the 2006 VMAs, Mos Def decided to crash the party and protest Katrina with a song in front of Radio City Music Hall delivered via the back of a flatbed truck.
Our managing editor at the time, Alex Smith, frantically called Sha and myself into the newsroom: Ok, so, Shaheem (decked out in a suit, as often the case with him), go hit the parties and Jayson, call the police and figure out what just happened.
!!!
Having migrated over to MTV from an assistant music editor position, I was mortified (I hadn’t regained my hard news reporting chops yet) and didn’t know what to do first.
Sha disappeared, but moments later he returned and wrote the number for the police on a piece of paper for me and dashed out of the office, the only traces of him that remained was the musk fragrance he often wears.
I called the police, telling them Shaheem from MTV gave me the number.
The memory makes me laugh ’cause I literally thought EVERYONE knew Shaheem. That’s how he comes across in the most endearing way. From restaurants to listening sessions and beyond, I’ve never seen a guy be more well received than him.
That’s always how I learned most from Sha, by just watching.
We didn’t have a mentor/mentee relationship; we often described it as “big bro/babe bro,” with me sometimes saying (while under the influence), I’m Kanye West and you’re Jay-Z! (“Yeah,” Sha would reply, in a tone that said, not quite but maybe too accurate, so I knew it was a good comparison. Ha!)
When it comes down to it, the guy is an institution unto himself.
There’s no competition.
He’s a fantastic writer, his copy is loaded with a vibrant voice. He has great vision for packaging ideas into thematic roll-out plans. And he knows how to break a story like Bo Jackson knew how to snap a bat after he struck out.
But more importantly, he cares.
Shaheem is a true contributor to the culture. He might have to be talked into covering some artists (so rare, because he’s always on it), but once he recognized someone was the truth, Sha was always honorable and would cover them. He never played favorites (except when it came to the Mets, Knicks, and Giants!)
When I left MTV briefly for XXL, I remember how bummed Sha looked when I told him. Then six months later when I unceremoniously left XXL, he hit me right away and told me to meet him in Queens for drinks. The invite was to a party for someone else we knew but Sha sat there with me all night, talking to me about his career and mistakes, and giving me advice, and listening to my struggles (as a hot head, he’d often have to help cool me down….); shortly after that we were all back in the building together again as the 1515 Boys.
Now, as Sha moves on to winning his next chip (and he most certainly will), I wanna toast to him, a talent whose shoes could never be filled, but I had the grander satisfaction of becoming his friend–and, most importantly, his brother–if not the next Shaheem Reid.
To my big brother:
“A idol in my eyes….god of the game, heart of the city, 1515 chain… never be the same, never be another, number one, S.Dot, also my big brother….”
