Trinidad James Talks New Clothing Line + Drama Pops Off Over James Brown’s Estate

Something that you may be surprised to find out (as I was too) is that “All Gold Everything” rapper, Trinidad James, is very much so into fashion. James, who is known for his trademark gold teeth and curly fro, worked as a manager at a boutique for four years before he entered the rap game. He now has a menswear called “Gold Gang Gear,” and GQ Magazine got the inside scoop on the line. Peep the excerpts:

On his website looking more like a clothing store than a rapper’s website:

“It does look like a clothing store, doesn’t it? [laughs] But in general, it’s all a part of the image, man. I was so much into fashion before music that it’d be ridiculous for me to not start up from somewhere without getting the brand out there. So we’re turning out streetwear in the upper echelon, higher class, you know?”

On him managing a boutique in Atlanta for four years:

“I ran that boutique for, like, three or four years. Top of the Underground was a streetwear store. I love everything that has to do with fashion, though. It’s not just streetwear for me.”

On starting “Gold Gang Gear”:

“We started this after I started rapping. It’s all a part of the marketing and business plan behind music. When you get a chance to do something great, you got to capitalize on it. And capitalizing on it basically incorporates all the things that go along with it. You gotta have songs, you gotta have a movement, you gotta have people drawing portraits of you or whatever. So hey, why not make some clothes? If someone would take the time to draw a mural of you, then they’ll take the time to buy a shirt, a good shirt, you know?”

On if he’ll spend more time doing clothing or music:

“You never know, man, you never know. You just gotta see how it works out. Everything just has to make sense. If it makes sense for me to go harder with the clothes and give music a rest, then, hey, that’s what I’m gonna do. I never force it; I just go with the wave.”

On what his famous line, “on Instagram straight flexin’” means:

“Put it like this, man. When I say, “My Instagram straight flexing,” I mean it in the most literal way. Instagram is a place where people either live a fancy life or they show you what type of life they’re living. Either way, flexing for me is when you post something you don’t have but you want or posting something that you have and you know no else does. That’s flexing. So: my Instagram straight flexing.”

On if he’ll open a clothing store:

“When the time is right, I’ll definitely try to do it. That’d be dope.”

In other news, the estate of the late James Brown is going back before the judge for reconsideration. The South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the previous settlement, which split his estate between a charitable trust, his widow, Tomi Rae Hynie, and his children. According to the court, that singer’s wishes was for most of the money to go to charity when he died at the age of 73 back in 2006. The case will go back to a lower court.

[GQ, WLTX]

–Patrice M.