Recent allegations have begun to surface that the co-creator, Gerald Levin, of Martin, a famous 90's show, are in the contemplation stages of filing a lawsuit as reported by All Hip Hop and Prefixmag. The grounds for intellectual property infringement stems from comments made by Gerald Levin who, when referencing Trinidad James, was quoted as saying "nobody's that unattractive in real life. Gold chains, gold rings, and rotten teeth, that's Jerome!! ... Martin created that." These comments can be taken as some playful jabbing at Trinidad James' persona or as a foreshadowing of courtrooms to come; my opinion is to reserve judgement until an official statement is released.

See the similarities and make your own judgement on the likeness. Below for comparison is Trinidad James' "All Gold Everything" and a clip from Martin showing Jerome.

Rumors from the past couple of days have now been confirmed (via Billboard), as one of the fastest-rising artists at the moment, Trinidad James, has officially signed to Def Jam. The rumors that remain: the deal was worth $2 million. Whoa there!

My personal opinion: well, Trinidad is not near my preferred style of emcee - that of the super lyrical. And it is slightly concerning that people chant the "popped a molly" line in "All Gold Everything". So I don't see the appeal personally, but I see how his music fits certain niches right now. I'm interested to see how his career progresses from here, what do you guys think?

Official statement from Def Jam:

“We’re excited to welcome a young talent like Trinidad James to the Def Jam family. Def Jam prides itself as both a cornerstone of hip-hop’s rich tradition, and as a vital, forward-thinking label dedicated to breaking and nurturing emerging artists. Trinidad James represents the cutting-edge of what’s happening in the culture today. We are thrilled to have him at the label, and look forward to growing his already massive buzz.”