Kimberley ‘Kim’ Osorio grew up at Castle Hill in New York City’s renowned borough of the Bronx, the epicentre of hip-hop culture. She spent her leisure hours scrutinising the embryonic hip-hop trendsetters Whodini, Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, KRS-One, L.L. Cool J. and Run-D.M.C. The rappers’ poetic rhymes moulded her broad comprehension of the genre and accorded her financially turbulent childhood with essential respite.
After graduating from high school, Kim moved out of the home of her Hispanic Puerto Rican father and black Chinese mother and enrolled in Fordham University at the Bronx to study journalism.
While at a Wu-Tang Clan album-release party, during her studies, she met Michelle Song, who was the managing editor of instrumental hip-hop magazine, XXL. Impressed by Kim’s intricate knowledge of rap history, Michelle recommended her to freelance writing opportunities with entertainment magazines Billboard, Vibe, One World, The Resident, LatinGirl and BlackBeat. Kim developed an ability to recreate herself and reinvent her skill-set by applying for a law course at the New York Law School after graduating from Fordham.
Her writing expeditions advanced and she created the habit of repeatedly phoning and requesting work assignments from Elliott Wilson, an executive editor of the Source, who she had rubbed shoulders with during her numerous internships. The Source was a street-conscious monthly magazine and the hallmark of rap literature. It was customarily known as the hip-hop bible and Kim had religiously read it since its inception in 1988.
Kim articulates in her memoir – Straight from the Source: An Exposé from the former Editor-in-Chief of the Hip-Hop Bible – that she made a statement of intent by regularly phoning Elliott to debate about the Source’s famous ratings called Mics, that were embellished on rap albums at the back of each monthly issue.
American journalist Kimberly ‘Kim’ Osorio’s memoir.
Photo credit: Photo I Pool
The popularity of Kim’s meritorious craft in the rap industry increased and she became a regular contributor to the Source, and was soon employed. She signed a $45,000-a-year contract as an associate music editor. The Source had been founded by White-Jewish New York native Dave Mays, who took in Chicago Hispanic rapper Raymond Scott Benzino as his business partner and co-owner of the magazine that was based along 215 Park Avenue South in Manhattan.
Upon resumption of her duties, Kim soon discovered that the indecent rumours about Benzino intertwined with the management of the magazine. Benzino was notorious for groping female staff in the hallways of the Source’s offices and making lewd derogatory comments about women’s bodies, while directing unwelcome sexual advances at them.
Kim demonstrated exemplary levels of optimised editorial efficiency through her uniquely choreographed articles and story lines, which gave the magazine an abundance of irrepressible tactility.
Her deft productivity, commitment and work ethic led to her promotion from music editor to executive editor. When the then editor-in-chief, Carlito Rodriguez, vacated his office after the April 2002 issue, Benzino informed Kim that she would assume the editor-in-chief position. She demanded an annual salary of $130,000, which the previous editor Carlito received, but was only handed $100,000, with an increment of $115,000 three months later. Men had been promoted from the mailroom to music editor, but gender bigotry by Dave and Benzino dehumanised women’s attributes, making it paramount for Kim to prove herself first.
She began her imperious chief editorial stint under extensive duress, but instantly instilled a benchmark upon which other magazines envisaged success. The offices were understaffed, and Kim assumed her role without a managing editor or second-in-command. In her first three months in charge, sales boomed and subscriptions rose.
Sales of the June 2002 issue featuring Trina on the cover, July 2002 issue that had Nelly, and the August 2002 issue with Eve, skyrocketed. Her innovations resonated with the reading community and Kim opted to keep her popular column before introducing a feature titled Dimepiece, a women’s empowering section that uplifted female characters within the hip-hop industry.
The subsequent September 2002 issue that had Jay-Z on the cover became the Source’s top selling edition, yet. It was followed by Lil’ Kim’s cover in November and the issue covering Fabulous in December, which preceded the Ja Rule cover that toppled the previous months and became the Source’s bestselling issue in history.
Unfortunately, Benzino launched a miscalculated tirade against hip-hop’s chart-topping rapper Eminem, degrading Kim’s exceptional work by using the magazine to attack the Detroit descendant. Eminem was partly signed to Interscope Records, which accounted for half of the successful rappers in the hip-hop community. Interscope had been the premier sponsor of the Source and its executive, Jimmy Iovine, quickly withdrew their advertisements, crippling the financial efficacy of the Source and inflicting an emotional toll in the reading community.
The public interest in the magazine waned, and its sales drastically dropped, with half of their clients withdrawing their subscriptions. Benzino consequently hired Antonie Clark, an owner of a successful magazine called F.E.D.S. as editor-in-chief and unceremoniously dismissed Kim.
Kim subsequently filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Source, Dave Mays and Benzino, and filed another complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April 2005. Her trial began in October 2006 and lasted for two weeks, before the jury awarded her $7.5 million in damages.
The writer is a novelist, Big Brother Africa 2 Kenyan representative and founder of Jeff’s Fitness Centre (@jeffbigbrother).
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