Interview with Bonsu Thompson (Part 1)
The Source Magazine has seen it’s better days. In the ’90s this magazine was the bible of hip-hop. Fans would wait in anticipation for album reviews to see who had the 5 mics. Labels would hire writers as A&Rs due to their finds in the Unsigned Hype section. Most importantly, no one was seeing them in the hip-hop world. Today is a different time. After the rise of XXL, the demise of the Dave Mays and Benzino era, and the further mismanagement of the mag, many people felt The Source was done for. Fast forward to 2010. The magazine is looking to make a comeback. The Source is looking for a new leader that will take them back to the top of the hip-hop world. The man they chose was referred by some of the most important people in the print world. He stands at an average height, with long dreds, thick glasses, and a scar that runs from his mouth to his jaw bone. The man they chose was Bonsu Thompson.
Bonsu understands that he is looking at an uphill battle. In his first Editorial for The Source, he talks about being hesitant to take the job due to the stigma around the magazine. Hell, it’s not easy to be an Editor-In-Cheif these days. Print is considered to be a dying industry. You can read an entire cover story on JoeSchmoe.Wordpress.Com two weeks before the ‘zene comes out. You already know all of the people in the Unsigned Hype section, because that same blog has been posting their music for weeks. Technology is the wave of the future, and putting ink to paper just might be the way of the past. So, the task at hand isn’t just leading The Source back to prominence, it’s coming up while keeping the brand afloat.
In part one of our interview we discuss Bonsu’s come up. He tells us everything from the interesting story that landed him the job at Harris Pub, to learning from Scoop Jackson and Elliott Wilson. We then talk about what he learned helping XXL rise up over The Source, and how he can use that knowledge to help him out now that he has switched sides.
Via Al Lindstrom.
