Elliott Wilson

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.