Trinidad James--goldbug, Roots Picnic headliner and hypebeast knower-abouter--recently passed through New York and grabbed some cooked food at Anil's Roti Shop in Queens with the cats from L+T--an obvious jumping off point for him to go deep on his Trini roots and West Indian pride--a heritage that's self-evident as soon as his heavy Trini accent kicks in, right from the moment he explains that doubles "is his favorite food in the world." Our Caribbean specialists at LargeUp--who established that Trinidad was in fact born on the island of Trinidad way back in 2012--of course were right there with napkins tucked in, cucumber chutney and Trinidad Pepper sauce at the ready. Read what they said below and click through to watch the interview:
As previously established, Atlanta rapper Trinidad James might rhyme and talk with a thick Southern drawl but he reps his homeland of T&T to the fullest. The MC’s breakthrough video, for “All Gold Everything,” dripped in Trini colors (even as it was shot in Clayton County, Georgia) while the visuals for his follow-up single, “Females Welcomed,” were shot in Port of Spain during Carnival season. So it’s hardly surprising that Mr. James goes to bat for Trini food, too. It would be hard not to, we suppose. From doubles to bake and shark, it’s one of the richest (and most slept-on, in our opinion) cuisines around.In fact, when we were approached about a possible Trinidad James webisode earlier this year, our immediate thought was to bring him to one of NYC’s many delicious Trini-owned roti spots. That tete-a-tete never materialized, but we’re glad to see someone had the same idea and has executed it.
That somebody is the Jay-Z-affiliated lifestyle blog Life + Times, which recently brought Trinidad by Anil’s in South Ozone Park, Queens, in NYC, for some doubles and roti. James waxes poetic on his love for the chana-and-chutney-filled bread, aptly noting that the savory snack’s taste defies its unimpressive appearance. Discussion of the delicacy really brings out the Trini in Trinidad, with a suddenly thick T&T accent emerging on the rapper’s lips.
