Opportunity Cost; Kinston Native J Trinity Performs at Not a Show in Durham, NC
In loving memory of James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931- September 9, 2024) and Frankie Beverly (Dec 6, 1946- Sept 10 2024).
Photo Credits @certiphiedphotography
While most people in the Carolina Piedmont Region traveled to Truist Stadium in Guilford County for the old time rivalry between the Rams of Winston-Salem State University and the Aggies of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University who ,battled against each other for the first time since 2010, (the old 40’ Classic). I, made the opportunity cost, to stretch a lil further down 40 East to check out my brother, @_jtrinity’s, live performance in Durham @notashownc in the Golden Belts Artists venue hosted by @cj.monet a talented pen/musical artist in Durham; Not a Show is a platform for local artists to perform their works in anactual art gallery, really dope experience, they have them every month. I’ve been knowing Jonathan for about 11 years now, we actually came in to Winston-Salem State University the same year, we have collaborated on numerous projects since then. Namely The Alarm Clock Album Book, Inside the Lab Podcast Season 1, and now this article.
I got to speak with Jonathan after his performance, to learn about his transition from being a pianist to a producer into an actual recording artist. And you have to be extremely passionate to miss out on such a big game, performing the same night, it’s definitely a opportunity cost.
For Jonathan the opportunity cost for missing out on the game to perform was “The epitome of his whole journey to becoming a performing artist.” It was Definitely worth it, to have loved ones, friends, and family there to vibe out to the music and to celebrate was really dope.
Jonathan started in music by playing the keys when he was 7 years old with his father and he also played in the church and that prepared him to being the producer for Dope Music Group when he was in college with another talented lyricist from the Carolinas, @Sladethesupreme .
“From the beginning production was there and I was like a built in feature within DOPE MUSIC. ”
Around 2019, Dope Music Group parted ways, and for J.Trinity that created what he calls a vacuum space for him to become a lyricist himself. For Jonathan he wanted to tell his on story, he had been a key player as a producer to help other people narrate their story he felt it was time to narrate his own story, at time he had a lot going on in his own personal life, and this was why he started writing.
In August of 2021 J.Trinity released his first project as an independent called For What It’s Worth.
I asked J.Trinity who is also known as Jonathan Jamal, about the similar characteristics between production and writer, because you see these layers in so many different arenas, from publishing, to film, and in this case music. Speaking from a journalist these articles are proof that we need writers and producers to engineer them, sometimes you have to fulfill each role and its nothing wrong with that.
“Production and writing go one for one; from a production stand point you already pay attention to the writing, you can make the beat at the crib (studio), The Production is the element where your working with the artist to craft the flow of the song; rearranging the beat to match what the writer did with their words.”
For Jonathan it’s the peanut butter and jelly for the masterpiece. So when he switched over to writer, he said, “I tapped into that other portion that was already there, and nourished the craft.”
What it means to perform in the Heart of the Carolinas Durham
Negroes in Coats-of-Arms of Noble Families | German Families with names of Negro Origin pg 86 Nature knows Know Color Line 1952 repub 2014
The alignment in J Trinity’s performance was it was right up the street from Trinity Park and Trinity Ave in Durham, I actually took Trinity Avenue to get to the venue. Durham is the heart of the Carolinas, musically, culturally and historically. Just like in Tulsa, Durham had it own Black Wall Street, where banks like Mechanics and Farmers was born. In our previous articles, we talk about how Black Wall Street was started by descendants from The Ani Yun Wiya (The Real People) Tribes who traveled the Trail Of Tears, these are the same people who were in Durham also and who have in fact migrated all over the country really, a lot people have core roots in The Carolinas. The Dominate Tribes in Durham are the Eno, Haliwa, Occaneechi Bands, and in Kinston where predominately Tuscaroras. Check out this live I did from Chattanooga that talks about the Origins of the People who traveled to Oklahoma, live from the Trial of Tears in Chattanooga an ancient metropolis site and trading path, now known as Ross Landing.
Sourced From the Original: John Merrick 1859-1921| Insurance Pioneer, founder of the nation's largest black owned and operated businesses, The North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. Founders of this company where leaders in Establishing Mechanics and Farmers and Mutual and Loan Association. Born in Clinton, he was self educated (never attended school) began his career as a brick layer. Later became a barber, building and operating five barbershops in Raleigh. In 1899 him and six others organized an insurance company from the faltering Royal Knights of David. The new company started its operations in a spare room in the office of Dr. A.M. Moore. This company had humble beginnings however once it started to make substantial profits for Merrick Moore and C.C. Spaulding who they brought on as the company salesman bookkeper and janitor. Spaudling sold his first policy for sixty-five cents. When the policy holder died shortly after, the estate made claim for forty dollars; Merrick and Moore contributed $39.71 and Spaulding paid the remaining 29 cents.Receipt of payment gave the company good credit and was used to make other sales.
Merrick "skillfully' reinvested the money and thus came about Mechanics and Farmers still in operation today. In 1907 he was named the first President of Mechanics and Farmers and was also the first President of the board of directors of Durham. Moore and Merrick served an important role in founding what is now North Carolina Central University in Durham. pg 174 Paths Toward Freedom A Biographical History of Blacks and Indians in North Carolina by Blacks and Indians
In my studies I came across Higher Court Records from the Carolinian People going as far back as 1578, housed in the CG O’Kelly Library. From these records we are able to examine human interaction and evaluate how they administered their estates. Similar to the claim made in the description under the John Merrick photo above, these higher court records were where claims were made by an estate, therefore even during that time, the people had surety, and the Higher Courts were essentially the exchequer. These are essentially how insurance companies operate today. I actually shared with Jonathan someone with the same name as him that i came across in my studies, from 1698 July 29th to be exact, in the higher court records.
In law there is as a common phrase that all judges across the land know, and must abide by, and that’s stare decisis /stériy desàyses/ from Latin. To abide by, or adhere to, decided cases. These books are very rich in cases that has been decided in our Dominions for nearly five centuries. Think about it from this angle, the Moors ruled Spain for 781 years from 711-1492ad; the Carolingian Dynasty in the Mediterranean lasted for 371 years from 751-1122ad. But here at our institution that brings in all these great minds from all over the Carolinas together, you have court records 175 years predating when the Moravian came to Salam in 1753. There’s alot to learn from the estate, some where as large as a county.
Lord of The Fees Session Iv sunday sept. 22 2024 6 Pm Live from the CG Okelly Library
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Lord of The Fees Session Iv sunday sept. 22 2024 6 Pm Live from the CG Okelly Library 〰️
We have to start seeing people in their true light, back in 2019 Jonathan reached out to me to see if I wanted to be featured on an interview for his Inside the Lab Podcast, of course I agreed, in our interview we discussed the talent just within the Carolina region. Full circle, now he’s performing in the Bull City, a city with so much talent. Off rip @j.rashad is a Bull City gem, who in fact inspired my launch for the Alarm Clock back in 2017, with his release party he had in Durham earlier that year on 8/13 to be exact; check out this new hit single he just dropped called DAWG, heat! All of us come from the same core, The Slater Academy proper. I also want to make reference to Bryant Cohen of @innerspacefilms who is also a Bull City Aboriginal. We are around the board with it in the creative space. Cohen was like the Prime Minister for our body politic as usual when we were in undergrad.
To perform in Durham, rather it’s on the street corner, the juke joint, or live from an Art Gallery, is epic for Carolinian artists, we talking Harlem Nights. Therefore I wanted to hear from Trinity to see what this moment meant for him.
“Its special man.” he said with a deep reverence.
“I’ve been creating since I was 16 years old. 13 years, learning about the North Carolina Hip Hop Scene, for so long we thought to make it, you have to go somewhere else; that why I loved Cole because now it’s like Oh I can do this from here; I can be from here and do this thing.”
To the moment, I have my family and friends surrounded around me, being able to express myself, feeling confident, expressing my art— aint nothing like it! Was Trinity’s Exact Words, he went on to say that the pay off is beautiful.
Trinity took a break from recording after his release, a hiatus, as he called it.
hi·a·tus
/hīˈādəs/
A pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process.
ie. I’m spreading my wings, I hop out, cocoon. I’m studio trappin’, I’m locked in the room. -Drake
J. Trinity’s Track list from the Not a Show Performance.
Content from Dream Theory from the last Dope Music Project
Silver Stone the 8am in Clt Freestyle; Click here to watch the live peformance.
1, 4, & 5 coming off the For What It’s Worth album.
Other performing artist were
@blacboyflyy @william.prize of out Fayetteville “One of my favorite artist from out the state.” -Trinity @bishiptyg and @cj.monet peformed “Call me” , the song that they won best R&B Music Video @carolinamusicvideoawards. @Bishiptyg streams his music exclusivly on his on platform tygnation.com “I got the album that nobody got.” The final act was from an amazing neo sol artist @lovechelsayy, and @djeleven12 was on the turn tables throughout the night.
I’ll end with this, even though the Rams lost to the Aggies, the Rams are still winning off the field.