In the summer of 1992, armed with his worthless LaGuardia Community College Associate Arts Degree, mulatto-born Elliot Wilson attempted to connect with The Source to no avail. Frustrated and full of half-Black rage, Wilson vowed to one day show his smarmy colleagues in the world of hip hop journalism what a tragic mistake they had made.
Befriending fellow W.C. Bryant High School alum Sacha Jenkins and L.C.C. student Haji Akhigbade, Wilson became the Music Editor of the duo s burgeoning rap newspaper, Beat Down. After the trio disbanded in the fall of 93, Wilson encouraged Jenkins to give the publishing game another shot and the seasoned salt-and-pepper duo began to conceptualize ego trip.
Wilson soon realized, however, that one cannot eat off props alone. When not contributing toward ground-breaking ego trip scriptures, he actively freelanced for Vibe, Rap Pages, Rap Sheet, Time Out New York and Paper. In 1995, he endured a brief-but-successful stint as an Associate Editor at CMJ New Music Report where he solidified the indie rock trade rag s hip hop coverage.
But it was in 1996 that he would enjoy a particularly sweet payback when he was wooed from CMJ to become The Source s Music Editor. During his two-year tenure, he helped propel the already established publication to the country s top-selling music title.
From Q-borough underachiever to Big Willie publishing mogul and now author, Elliot Jesse Wilson Jr. is a living testament that dreams can and do come true.
