Charles Aaron is an American music journalist and editor, formerly for ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' magazine, where he worked for 23 years.

Personal life

Charles Aaron was born in Rockingham,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and raised in Asheboro, North Carolina and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. He attended the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

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, Georgia, and graduated in 1985. Aaron lived in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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, with his wife Tristin and son but moved to Durham, North Carolina, after leaving ''Spin'' magazine.

Career

After graduation in 1985, Charles Aaron began his journalism career at ''AdWeek'' and ''Sassy'' magazines. Before working full-time for ''Spin'' magazine, he freelanced as a music journalist at the magazine and for other publications like ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'', and ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

''. ''Spin'', an alternative music magazine, was launched in 1985. Charles Aaron began as a contributor to ''Spin'' magazine around 1991 while the

hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

genre was becoming popular with white audiences. In one article, he refers to himself as a "white hip hopper" and says over time he wrote many articles for the magazine in appreciation of the genre. He wrote his first feature about

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

's father for the magazine in 1993. He joined the staff of ''Spin'' magazine in 1996. He moved into his music editor roles with the magazine in 1998 and 2002. In 2011, Aaron was promoted to editorial director.

BuzzMedia MRC II Distribution Company, L.P., doing business as MRC (formerly Media Rights Capital), is an American film and television production company founded by Mordecai (Modi) Wiczyk and Asif Satchu in 2006. Based in West Hollywood, California, the c ...

(now SpinMedia) took over the magazine 2011 making staff cuts and changes. That same year ''Spin'' transformed itself from 11 printed issues per year to a greater digital presence but with almost half the printed issues. In 2013, he became editor at large. Charles Aaron's last issue with ''Spin'' magazine was February 2014. After leaving ''Spin'', Aaron wrote for other magazines, such as ''Rolling Stone'' and ''Wondering Sound''.

Notable works of journalism

The article "Remembering Notorious B.I.G." was reprinted in the March 2010 issue of ''Spin'', for which Aaron received an award. On the occasion of Aaron's last issue (February 2014), ''Spin'' reprinted what was considered some of his best music journalism, including "'Sir Real'" from 1993 about

Snoop Doggy Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

. As editorial director, Aaron also oversaw the use of apps that would allow audience to listen to artists while reading about them or to remix dance songs using app tools.

Awards

In 2000, Charles Aaron and Sia Michel, both of ''Spin'', were presented with the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for their coverage of The Notorious B.I.G.'s career, which appeared in the magazine's January 1998 issue. Also in 2000, Aaron won a National Arts Journalism Fellowship from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. The American Society of Magazine Editors named ''Spin''s tablet version a finalist or its Ellie Awards in 2012.

Influence

Amanda Petrusich, a music critic, says she was influenced by Aaron's music journalism for Spin magazine.

In popular culture

Charles Aaron was widely speculated to be the alleged author behind "The Rock Critical List", which appeared online in February 1999. While Aaron denied authorship and there was no credible evidence linking him to authorship, the list was believed to have been written by an insider.

References

External links

* Charles Aaron's ''Spin'' articl
'Sir Real': Read SPIN's 1993 Profile of Snoop Doggy Dogg
* Charles Aaron'
Remembering Notorious B.I.G.
* ASCAP Awards for 199
32nd Annual ASCAP Deems Taylor Award Recipients
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aaron, Charles 1960s births Living people American music journalists American male journalists People from Rockingham, North Carolina People from Asheboro, North Carolina People from Rome, Georgia University of Georgia alumni Journalists from North Carolina Journalists from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers American magazine editors Year of birth missing (living people)