DANYEL SMITH is a former editor at large for Time Inc. and the former editor in chief of Vibe. She has also written for the Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Spin, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and the New York Times. Smith is on the part-time faculty at the New School University and wrote the introduction for the New York Times' bestseller Tupac Shakur. She lives in Brooklyn but was born and raised in California. Visit her at www.danyelsmith.com.