Nicholaus Joseph Williams (born September 24, 1987), better known by his stage name Trinidad James (often stylized as Trinidad Jame$), is a Trinidadian-American rapper, songwriter and music video director. In December 2012, he signed with Def Jam Recordings to commercially release his debut single, "All Gold Everything" that same month. The song peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and spawned a remix featuring fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I., Jeezy and 2 Chainz. He was dropped from the label in 2014 after failing to promptly release a debut album.
In the late 2010s, he shifted from recording to songwriting. He has been credited as a ghostwriter for releases by recording artists including City Girls, Kehlani, Flo Milli, Queen Naija, and Lakeyah; namely, he has co-wrote Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk", Fifty Fifty's "Barbie Dreams", and Bhad Bhabie's "Hi Bich". He signed with Artist Publishing Group in 2018. Furthermore, he has directed music videos for the songs "Made for Me" by Muni Long and "Gas You Up" by Kaliii.
In August 2013, he announced and subsequently released his second mixtape, titled 10 PC Mild, through Def Jam and Think It's A Game Entertainment. The mixtape garnered generally mixed reviews, although many of whom considered it an improvement from his previous effort and praised the slew of guest performers which included Donald Glover, Travis Scott, Fabo, Cyhi the Prynce, and Gucci Mane. After months of not releasing any new music, James announced that he had been dropped from Def Jam on August 1, 2014. He also indicated that instead of releasing his album through the label, he would make it available for free, and that the producers and rappers who contributed to the project should not expect any compensation because he had "no money." In April 2016, James released the single "Just a Lil' Thick (She Juicy)" featuring Mystikal and Lil Dicky. On December 31, 2016, James released a mixtape "The Wake Up 2" to streaming services such as Spotify and to mixtape websites alike.
On June 9, 2018, James released a single titled "M.M.M. (Marilyn Maryland Marilyn)" to streaming services. The music video, directed by Mike Marasco was uploaded to YouTube on the same day.
On November 27, 2019, in an interview with popular rap talk show "No Jumper", James stated that his current favorite rappers were "Doja Cat and Lil Nas X, I love those guys, partly because their flows remind me of myself" and later in the interview when asked about what his hopes for his current favorite rappers James proclaimed "I would hate to see them quit. You know. The last thing I'd want to see is for them to fall off just like I have."
As of 2018, James is a host on a YouTube talk show, Full Size Run. He appeared as himself in the Safdie Brothers' film Uncut Gems (2019).
+ List of mixtapes, with year released ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:14em;" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:19em;" | Details ! scope="col" colspan="3" | Peak chart positions | |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
+ List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year ! scope="col" colspan="3" | Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;" | Certifications ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album | |||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
+ List of singles as featured performer, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year ! scope="col" colspan="3" | Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;" | Certifications ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album | |||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
+ List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name ! scope="col" style="width:19em;" | Title ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Other artist(s) ! scope="col" | Album |
+ List of music videos, with directors, showing year released ! scope="col" style="width:16em;" | Title ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Director(s) |
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