D. Smith (born July 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter, reality television personality, and documentary filmmaker. She worked on Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter iii, which was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2009 Grammy Awards and won Best Rap Album. In 2016, she made her reality-tv debut on season five of Love & Hip Hop Atlanta.

Her debut documentary Kokomo City (2023) follows four Black transgender sex workers and premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Early life and education

D. Smith was born to a religious family in Miami, Florida where she fell in love with music through church.[1] She wrote her first song at ten years old for her church choir.[2] By seven years old, she knew was transgender and often fell asleep praying to wake up as a woman.[1]

She graduated highschool and moved to New York City, New York where she began pursuing a career in music.

Career

In Brooklyn, New York, Smith pursued her music career as a producer and collaborated with singer-songwriter Stacey Barthe.[2] Together, they worked with several artists, including Lil’ Wayne.[3] In 2008, D. Smith produced and sang on the track “Shoot Me Down” for Lil Wayne’s rap album Tha Carter iii.[3][4][5] For her work on the song, she won the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album with other collaborators.[6]

Smith also collaborated with other artists prior to her transition, including Andre 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Lloyd, Katy Perry, and Ciara.[7] In 2014, she came out as transgender, and her music career fell in decline;[8][5] Smith cited her transition as the cause for the break.[9] According to Out, the music industry "stopped returning her calls."[5]

She appeared on season five of Love & Hip Hop Atlanta for eight episodes in 2016, making her the first trans woman cast on an unscripted reality tv series.[10] The music artist faced heated discussions with fellow cast members on transgender issues, including Waka Flocka and Lil Scrappy.[11] Despite her intention to portray transgender women as non-confrontational, Smith claims she faced pressure from the show’s production team to be more confrontational; she said “I'm not a confrontational person, and I forced myself to be, and it was a complete, utter disaster for myself.” She left the show later in the season, citing it as a regretful experience.[1]

Following her time on Love & Hip Hop Atlanta, Smith became homeless and relocated back to New York, where she couch-surfed with friends and family, and "looked for what was next."[5][9] During this time, Smith began production on Kokomo City, a documentary following the lives of four black transgender sex-workers. Along with directing, Smith also shot and edited the film herself on a low-budget and without secure housing.[12][5] Her film, which was produced by Harris Doran, Bill Butler, and Lena Waithe, debuted at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023[9][5] and won both awards in the Sundance(Next) category.[13] Smith was signed by the Creative Artists Agency the same-day.[9]

She was listed as one of 2023's Most Impactful and Influential LGBTQ+ People by Out on their annual Out100 Awards list. She told the magazine, which called her work a "vital breath of fresh air for trans art," that when you start to see "the enemies, you know you’re heading in the right direction. Trust the process and know that us being able to fight is a good thing."[5]

Personal life

In May 2023, R&B artist Dustin Michael confirmed his relationship with Smith on Instagram.[14]

Filmography

List of Credits
Year Title Role Format Notes
2006 D. Smith: Cab Driver Actress, Composer Short Film
2015 Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood Self Reality TV Appeared for 1 episode
2016 Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta Self Reality TV Appeared for 8 consecutive episodes
2023 Kokomo City Director, Cinematographer, Casting Director, Editor, Producer Documentary

References

  1. 1 2 3 D'Souza, Shaad (2023-07-19). "Kokomo City director D Smith: 'A lot of trans documentaries are snoozefests'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  2. 1 2 "Kokomo City". DC/DOX. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  3. 1 2 "Transgender Producer D. Smith Talks Working On Old & New Music With Lil Wayne [Video]". 2016-07-11. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  4. ↑ Billboard Staff (2016-07-04). "Watch CeeLo Meet Transgender Producer D. Smith on 'Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rude, Mey. "D. Smith". Out. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Winners! A Complete List From the 2009 Grammys". E! Online. 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  7. ↑ "D. Smith". Genius. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  8. ↑ Debruge, Peter (2023-01-27). "'Kokomo City' Review: Trans Sex Workers Reframe Their Narrative in D. Smith's Raucous Doc". Variety. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Donnelly, Matt (2023-01-30). "Breakout Director D. Smith, Who 'Lost Everything' When She Transitioned, Just Conquered Sundance". Variety. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  10. ↑ Grobar, Matt (2023-01-21). "D. Smith, Director Of Sundance-Premiering Documentary 'Kokomo City,' Signs With CAA". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  11. ↑ "L&HH 's First Transgender Cast Member Shuts Down Hate From Waka Flocka". BET. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  12. ↑ Felperin, Leslie (2023-08-01). "Kokomo City review – Black trans women tell truths of light and dark side of sex work". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  13. ↑ Debruge, Matt Donnelly,Peter; Donnelly, Matt; Debruge, Peter (2023-01-27). "Sundance Winners: 'A Thousand and One' Takes U.S. Dramatic Jury Prize (Complete List)". Variety. Retrieved 2023-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ Hansford, Amelia (2023-05-10). "Singer Dustin Michael proudly confirms relationship with trans actor D Smith". PinkNews. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
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