August 2nd 2023.
Danyel Smith is an award-winning journalist and three-time author who has dedicated her life to shining a light on Black music. When she thinks of home, she remembers the song by Stephanie Mills, “When I think of home, I think of a place where there’s love overflowing.” Smith is now back on the West Coast, where she grew up.
Her mother gave her a book when she was young called She Wanted to Read: The Story of Mary McLeod Bethune. Smith remembers the feeling of being rewarded for being strong and intentional as a woman and a little girl. She knew she wanted to be a storyteller in Mrs. Gibbs’ third-grade class when she wrote her own book.
In middle school, Smith attended a Catholic, all-girl multiracial institution in Los Angeles. She was exposed to Black artistry and rap music when it was fresh and new. She remembers Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight and how it had the “playground on a tilt”. She realized that Black people were not given the same amount of credit for their creative work and wanted to be a part of changing that.
Smith started her career in 1989, and gave a shout-out to two trailblazing Black women in the magazine industry - Cynthia Horner and Susan Taylor. She was the music editor of SF Weekly and freelanced as a reporter for Spin. In 1993 she moved to New York to become R&B editor at Billboard magazine. Then in 1997 she was promoted as the first Black and woman editor-in-chief of Vibe and vibe.com.
The ’90s and 2000s were both tragic and uplifting for Smith. She remembers when Lauryn Hill and Outkast won Album of the Year and how she put Kirk Franklin on the cover after Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls were killed. She was proud to be working with the best and most brilliant people and doing something she was passionate about.
Smith has faced many challenges throughout her career, including a “crisis of confidence” when she was in her 20s. Men weren’t interested in a Black woman writing about rap music and hip-hop culture. But now, Smith is still on an incredible journey of rhythm, resilience, and the power of Black culture. She is a producer and writer at ESPN and currently hosts Black Girl Songbook, a music talk show highlighting Black women artists. For Smith, it is a calling she is committed to and in service of Black culture.
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