Watching this years #GrammyAwards was so affirming. I’m no hip hop rapper, but the culture has provided for me well over the years. First
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 08: Tyran 'Tata' Smith, Emory Jones, Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter and Nipsey Hussle attend Nipsey Hussle Grammy Celebration at The Peppermint Club on February 8, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images)
of all, my work as a concert promoter in the 80’s, a tv producer & magazine publisher in the ’90s, and then all that “quality time” I spent writing all those books! The exclamation point on all the noise through the years was to be AMPLIFIED by one man who stepped to me unprovoked: “Hey whatchu writing bro? I always see you writing” And when I told this stranger what I was doing and that I was going to be a best-selling novelist… well the rest is history, how he asked to read some of my work, how he then became addicted to my writing and eventually invested thousands of dollars in me/no contract or written agreement. His brotherly, philanthropic investment enabled me at the most critical time in my life, in fact it gave me life when nobody else was around to support me, to encourage me… and then to keep it real/to put hard-earned dollars in my hands is priceless. Yes, that’s him, relevant as ever, #EmoryJones sitting shotgun beside JayZ.
So just as Emory supports and amplifies HOV, It feels amazing to have been amplified by Emory in the field of writing, especially now when everything written is questionable, with everyone punching in “prompts” to get to the juice of life. Yeah-nah, I was drinking the juice before I had access to the web. This is IN ME, ink pen and line paper, bruh.
In the sit-down where Les Brown interviews me, I spoke about Emory’s investment in my life, and Les shared: “You know, I believe in angels, that when you are committed to doing something, and you become so good, that you cannot be ignored that angels will intervene.” And as Les said it, Emory lives it. He lived it then, when we were locked up, and he lives it now sitting to the right (our right) of the King JayZ. Sure, Emory is no rapper, but he’s certainly an influence, the breakfast club interview, sitting beside Jay at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and here on one of the world’s biggest stages at The Grammys. Clearly he’s a major part of the energy, or else why would he be present in these spaces? @vegas_jones belongs there on stage, amidst giants. And its a celebration for me too, since Emory is the reason my hard work, writing all those dozens of books was amplified and how driven I remained behind those razor-wire fences and concrete walls. No, I may not be a rapper, but whenever I see Emory in these spaces, he’s no intangible ghost. He’s not just a person I met. Nope. In my imagination we’re sitting on his bunk bed building, separated by my piles of notebooks of lined paper and hand-written words, words that he agreed with and enjoyed when he was also rock bottom… words that have now become institutions, words that have built buildings and put bread on the tables of my loved ones and employees. Words that have attracted love in my life.
So while DJ Khalid chants “God Did” and while the masses will say “Khalid did, and JayZ feels “HOV Did” for me, Emory Did! #SALUTE #EmoryJones #2023grammyawards #Jayz #DJKhalid #fortdixx #urbanlit #urbanfiction
