D. Smith

D. Smith (born July 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter, reality television personality, and documentary filmmaker. She worked on Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III, which was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2009 Grammy Awards and won Best Rap Album. In 2016, she made her reality-tv debut on season five of Love & Hip Hop Atlanta.

Her debut documentary Kokomo City (2023) follows four Black transgender sex workers and premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Early life and education D. Smith was born to a religious family in Miami, Florida where she fell in love with music through church. She wrote her first song at ten years old for her church choir. By seven years old, she knew she was transgender and often fell asleep praying to wake up as a woman. In 2008, D. Smith produced and sang on the track “Shoot Me Down” for Lil Wayne's rap album Tha Carter III.

Smith also collaborated with other artists prior to her transition, including Andre 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Lloyd, Katy Perry, and Ciara. In 2014, she came out as transgender, and her music career fell in decline; According to Out, the music industry "stopped returning her calls."

She appeared on season five of Love & Hip Hop Atlanta for eight episodes in 2016, making her the first openly trans woman cast on an unscripted reality TV series. The music artist faced heated discussions with fellow cast members on transgender issues, including Waka Flocka and Lil Scrappy. Despite her intention to portray transgender women as non-confrontational, Smith claims she faced pressure from the show's production team to be more confrontational; she said “I'm not a confrontational person, and I forced myself to be, and it was a complete, utter disaster for myself.” She left the show later in the season, citing it as a regretful experience. Smith was signed by the Creative Artists Agency the same day.

Filmography

Accolades Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Sundance Film Festival 29 January 2023 NEXT Audience Award Kokomo City NEXT Innovator Award Berlin International Film Festival 25 February 2023 Panorama: Best Documentary Film D. Smith Teddy Award for Best Documentary/Essay Film Critics' Choice Documentary Awards 12 November 2023 Best Documentary Feature Kokomo City Best First Documentary Feature Best Score D. Smith Best Cinematography Best Editing IndieWire Critics Poll 11 December 2023 Best Documentary Kokomo City Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 12 December 2023 Best Documentary Film Las Vegas Film Critics Society 13 December 2023 Best Documentary Indiana Film Journalists Association 17 December 2023 Best Documentary San Diego Film Critics Society 19 December 2023 Best Documentary Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 21 December 2023 Best Documentary Film Golden Orange D. Smith National Society of Film Critics Awards 6 January 2024 Best Non-Fiction Film Kokomo City Denver Film Critics Society 12 January 2024 Best Documentary Feature Cinema Eye Honors 12 January 2024 Outstanding Non-Fiction Feature D. Smith, Harris Doran and Bill Butler Outstanding Direction D. Smith Outstanding Cinematography Outstanding Sound Design Roni Pillischer Outstanding Debut Kokomo City The Unforgettables Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell and Dominique Silver Black Reel Awards 16 January 2024 Outstanding Documentary FeatureKokomo City Outstanding Cinematography D. Smith Outstanding Editing Directors Guild of America Awards 10 February 2024 Outstanding Directing – Documentary Independent Spirit Awards 25 February 2024 Best Documentary Feature D. Smith, Bill Butler, Harris Doran Dorian Awards 26 February 2024 Documentary of the Year Kokomo City LGBTQ Documentary of the Year GLAAD Media Awards 14 March 2024 Outstanding Documentary