Hip hop icon DJ Premier has spoken of his sadness at the loss of music chain Fat Beats.
Music stores sit at the heart of any healthy scene. Dubstep began above the Big Apple in Croydon, while the latest indie releases will always find a warm home at the historic Rough Trade stores.
However with the shifting sands of the internet economy, more and more music stores are falling by the wayside. In the United States, Fat Beats recently closed its doors after sixteen years of service.
Dedicated to the hip hop community, Fat Beats will now only exist as an online distributor. Owner Joe Abajian spoke to Prefix Mag, and confirmed the news: "This is the start of a new era for Fat Beats. We're adapting to meet the needs of our demographic by revamping and improving our existing systems."
"While our website, which stocks everything available in our retail stores, continues to do very well, we're still exploring our options for alternate retail locations in the future. We're proud of our legacy and will continue to re-invent ourselves."
Meanwhile, Gangstarr legend DJ Premier has spoken of his sorrow at seeing Fat Beats retreat from physical premises. "The closing of Fat Beats is just like one of my friends passing away," he said in a prepared statement.
"They promoted vinyl at its highest degree for the culture of good music, and that makes it more difficult to say goodbye."
DJ Eclipse worked at the chain, and revealed the dedication the staff gave to the music. "Other places claim to host 'where hip-hop lives,' but we really did live, eat and breathe Hip Hop. It was a meeting place for artists, DJs and customers alike" he said.
"We took pride in promoting and pushing the indie artist that the average person may not have known about. Unfortunately in these times we are suffering from both the state of the music business and the economy. As sad as I am to see the retail portion of the company close I'll always remember the great in-stores we had here and fun times working with the staff."
