Fifth Element Official Site Relaunch!!
In 1999 Rhymesayers Entertainment opened Fifth Element to help establish a centerpiece for the local Hip Hop scene. We followed that in 2005 with the launching of the website. In that time, much has changed in the industry. You have probably heard all the debates before- rising digital downloads, declining physical sales, rise of social media, fall of major labels, and so on. Despite the challenges, Fifth Element still feels there is room to grow.
Over the last few months, we have been busy doing just that. We closed the physical store for a couple weeks to do a remodel leaving the store looking better than ever. We also completely redeveloped our website to not only look and function better, but also extensively expanding its content:
1) Webstore: For the first time ever, our online store is a direct reflection of our complete inventory. There is an ever-growing amount of music, books, DVDs, clothing, collectibles, and more!
2) Blog*: We will be adding new content daily: old (classic to obscure) and new album reviews, in-depth video interviews, unearthing rare recordings/videos, book reviews, and movie reviews. Also, we are creating and developing our own Online TV shows (Microphone Mathematics, What’s Next On The Menu?, Last Of The Record Buyers, etc…) focusing on different aspects of the culture and beyond. Come through and not only read the articles and watch the videos, but also become a part of the community with your comments**.
3) RedefineHipHop: This is a project I’ve personally been working on for 15 years of my life, yet it encompasses all of my 31 years of Hip Hop experiences. Currently it is integrated into the blog as a means to dig deeper into the history of the culture; the artists, the Elements, the entrepreneurs, the local scenes across the globe, the media, the tours/events, and the culture’s influences. This is a fast developing part of the site to exist as a home for a wealth of information about all aspects of this culture.
4) FE Events: Because there are a lot of great emerging Hip Hop artists in the Twin Cities, we want to help those artists continue to grow and thrive, so we are utilizing or creating a variety of platforms to help the local scene achieve that. We already have our Thursday Events- Open Mic, Cut Class, Last Of The Record Buyers, Hip Hop Trivia, and the new Art Gallery Space, all of which are community based events for local artists to network, refine their skill and connect with their fan base. Moving forward, there will be more in-store events as well as increased interaction in working with local venues to get more touring acts into the Twin Cities, which in turn opens doors for local artists to share those stages.
Fifth Element is a store, but behind that are people who live and breathe Hip Hop culture. We believe that there are plenty of fans and artists who feel the same. We will continue to be the Official Rhymesayers Online Store, as well as further cement ourselves as a primary source for global Hip Hop Information; past, present and future. We appreciate your years of support and invite you to continue to connect, build and grow with us!
-Kevin Beacham (Fifth Element Social Media Director)
P.S-The blog has been up for a weeks during our trial launch so make sure to browse thru the 31 existing articles! There’s a bunch of album reviews, book reviews, some in-depth interviews (Mad Thinker, Psalm One, Ultramagnetic MCs!!), and some other fun stuff!
*Shout Out to our existing contributors:
Kevin Beacham (editor/writer)
I Self Devine (writer/columnist)
Detroit Murder Dog (columnist)
Freightman & Donk (columnists)
Andy Giesen (writer/assistant editor)
Jesse Ducker (writer)
JR of The Molemen (writer)
Plain Ole Bill (writer)
Tommy Smith (writer)
Soren Gauche (video specialist)
Didier Mbilizi (video specialist)
Adam Stanzak (video intern: LA)
Daniel Behrens (video intern: San Francisco/Oakland)
…and more to come!
**Please be respectful of others. We welcome your feedback, criticisms, counter-points, and all
that good stuff, but blatant disrespect, racism, negative energy and things of the sort will be
promptly deleted…
Here’s a look at the new store, in case you missed it when we originally pushed this out:
August 23rd, 2010
Tags: RedefineHipHop, Rhymesayers
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happymngirl