Thomas is both an artist and curator in the house that hip-hop built. There is a meticulous balance required in playing this dual role that the Vibe executive editor is gifted with; it is something born not made. His eyes still shine with the love for the essence of hip-hop—the purity of a rap battle on a cold New York street corner and DJs carrying crates of records into a humid gymnasium—yet he is able to recognize the need for growth, molding this awareness into progression for the culture. “I love getting up, making sure my kids are straight and listening to hip-hop, talking about it and then doing that again the next day. That’s like, the shit to me.”
The 37-year old father of three is a pioneer of hip-hop journalism. Starting out as an intern for Vibe in May 1996, he moved on to become editor-in-chief at XXL, founder and EIC of KING, and COO of Russell Simmons’ Global Grind. He returned to Vibe in 2010 citing the opportunity to reunite the band, so to speak. “A lot of people I came into the game with, we felt like we all met at Vibe…For us to be able to have the chance to run it the way we used to talk about? You can’t pass that opportunity up.” His constant movement, particularly the somewhat recurrent nature of it, leaves Thomas to marvel at his career. “I don’t know why, but my career works in like, a cycle. Started at XXL super low on the totem pole, left, but came back as editor-in-chief. Started at Vibe super low—I was damn near below intern status. Come back and I’m executive editor. These two in themselves are enough to tell me that there are some things that are just destined for you.”
Born in Brooklyn, Thomas lived in Japan and New Mexico for a few years as a preteen before returning to New York City in high school. As a teen, his passion was producing music. His uncle’s best friend would pay for studio sessions for him and a couple of MCs he was managing. Thomas would go every day after school to work on his beats. His enthusiasm continued through his college days at Baruch, where he used a nearby record store to his advantage.
“It used to be on 23rd between Lex and Park. I think the spot was called Sam’s…I would go in there during breaks between classes. I made myself an intern there just by being in there—I never left [chuckles]. I would never have any money, so sometimes I would grab a broom or sometimes I would help people find records,” He pauses, a small smile spreading across his face as he recalls, “There was this dude Pat, an older black dude in there. I think he was Jamaican or something. He’d be like, ‘This dude is always in here not buying nothing! Take a record or something man. Get outta here! But before you leave, move those boxes!’” He laughs heartily and ruminates in the memory for a beat before continuing, “That helped me find different sounds and learn about different music. People would come in and put me on to stuff too, so that was like a learning experience.”
It would seem that Thomas’ path was paved to begin a career in music, but fate stepped in and led him on the road to journalism. During this time, he taught a continuing education creative writing class at the New York Public Library where he would often share articles from the many magazines he read. One day, one of his students gave him an epiphany. “My man Mr. Cook—he was in his 50s or 60s—would say ‘If I could read and write like you, I’d be in every one of these things. I would be in all of them. YOU should be in all of them.”
