D. Smith

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

D. Smith was born to a religious family in Miami, Florida where he fell in love with music through church. He wrote his first song at ten years old for his church choir. By seven years old, he thought he knew he was transgender and often fell asleep praying to wake up as a woman.

In Brooklyn, New York, Smith pursued his music career as a producer and collaborated with singer-songwriter Stacey Barthe. Together, they worked with several artists, including Lil' Wayne. In 2008, D. Smith produced and sang on the track "Shoot Me Down" for Lil Wayne's rap album Tha Carter III. For his work on the song, he won the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album with other collaborators. Smith also collaborated with other artists prior to his transition, including Andre 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Lloyd, Katy Perry, and Ciara. In 2014, he came out as transgender, and his music career fell in decline; Smith cited his transition as the cause for the break. According to Out, the music industry "stopped returning [his] calls." He appeared on season five of Love & Hip Hop Atlanta for eight episodes in 2016, making him 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 his intention to portray transgender women as non-confrontational, Smith claims he faced pressure from the show's production team to be more confrontational; he said "I'm not a confrontational person, and I forced myself to be, and it was a complete, utter disaster for myself." He left the show later in the season, citing it as a regretful experience. Following his time on Love & Hip Hop Atlanta, Smith became homeless and relocated back to New York, where he couch-surfed with friends and family, and "looked for what was next." During this time, Smith began production on Kokomo City, a documentary following the lives of four black transgender sex-workers. Along with directing, Smith also shot and edited the film himself on a low-budget and without secure housing. His film, which was produced by Harris Doran, Bill Butler, and Lena Waithe, debuted at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023 and won both awards in the Sundance (Next) category. Smith was signed by the Creative Artists Agency the same day. He was listed as one of 2023's Most Impactful and Influential LGBTQ+ People by Out on their annual Out100 Awards list. He told the magazine, which called his work a "vital breath of fresh air for trans art," that when you start to see "the enemies, you know you're heading in the right direction. Trust the process and know that us being able to fight is a good thing."

In May 2023, R&B artist Dustin Michael confirmed his relationship with Smith on Instagram. On September 17, 2026, Smith detransitioned and began using he/him pronouns. Of this decision, he stated that "Living my life as a woman for 12 years showed me the man that I wanted to become. My respect and love for the transgender community remain unchanged, and I continue to believe that every person deserves to live with dignity, safety, and compassion and have the freedom to become themselves."

List of Credits • Year — Title — Role — Format — Notes • 2006 — D. Smith: Cab Driver — Actor, Composer — Short Film • 2015 — Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood — Self — Reality TV — Appeared for 1 episode • 2016 — Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta — Self — Reality TV — Appeared for 8 consecutive episodes • 2023 — Kokomo City — Director, Cinematographer, Casting Director, Editor, Producer — Documentary

• 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 — 1st Place • 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 Feature — Kokomo 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