The below text is a transcription of an interview of Trinidad James by the excellent VladTV.
Interviewer: Have you ever met Riff Raff?
Trinidad James: Yeah! Riff Raff the truth.
[. . .]
TJ: Riff Raff’s been doing this way before me, so I feel like Riff Raff is just Riff Raff. He’s not the white [Trinidad James]. He has nothing…he has his own, he’s his own entity. You know, he didn’t have anything at all to do with me. He’s been doing his thing or whatever and I’m been doing me. You know I’m not “the black Riff Raff” like I’m not y’know I’m not that, I’m just doing me. […]
Interviewer: You know when someone come on with a crazy kinda style and stuff like that–
TJ: When you different, when you different…so many people don’t push the envelope so when you do you’re all envelopes together, you’re envelope family, you know what I’m saying. It’s just people talking as usual.
Interviewer: There was an interview that I don’t know if you’ve seen that the Hot 97 interview with Riff Raff?
TJ: I mean, like, you remember what you just said that whole thing about Joey? That’s Ebro’s opinion. You can’t..Riff can’t help that…I damn sure can’t help that, ain’t got nothing to do with me, you know what I’m saying? That’s how he feel. He said it, cause he said it, if we talk about it now and this is going to go online and people are gonna hear me talk about it, when Ebro said it he knew what he was saying, he’s been on cameras way before me, that’s how he felt. Can’t be mad at that if that’s how he felt. If Riff felt some type of way about it they could have fought, could have said something about it.
Interviewer: Riff was upset. Just because this was like his first Hot 97 interview…
TJ: Man, Riff a cool dude, man. He probably felt some type of way but it was what it was, you know what I’m sayin? Cause that’s just the way he felt, you can’t help how somebody feels. Shit, it ain’t really going to amount to nothing. It don’t stop Riff from flexin’ and riding around in a Porsche by the river, around Cali. It don’t do nothing. It don’t stop no money from coming in so why even follow that up for. That’s just somebody saying how they feel.
this cage is worms 
What’s the takeaway here for you?
I don’t have a takeaway.
I don’t either. Why post this then?
You’re being “that guy” on the internet.
I posted it because Trinidad James and Riff Raff get compared (wrongfully) all the time, and I think that James’ explanation of why is pretty interesting. Also, I’ve been looking for examples of “swag rappers” talking about haters, and this is prime territory–they don’t keep money from coming in, so why care about them? There’s something about performance and capital in all of this that is super interesting.
Asking questions makes me “that guy?” ???
I was just wondering because the post was more “barren” then usual.
Why are “swag rappers’ ” thoughts on haters particularly interesting? Because they strive more toward making money than making art?
Also, who are some other rappers you consider to be swag rappers?
I’m working on a thing about “swag rap” so most of this stuff will get answered there, maybe.