By K.B. Tindal
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer
During the 2005-2008 period, many urban websites popped up to serve an underserved market. Global Grind was among these sites and it had the support of Russell Simmons. After liking the concept, he became an investor and the face of the site.
Global Grind, over the past six years, has delivered many big stories from a hip hop perspective. Along the way, they have interviewed all of the biggest hip hop stars. For as much as they did, they remained an independent operation.
Urban media conglomerate, Radio One, changed this when their web subsidiary, Interactive One, acquired Global Grind. The two companies were already working together with sales and content. Now, Global Grind is an official part of the family and will be paired with the other Interactive One websites and the people involved issued statements.
Read the statements from Global Grind and Interactive One below:
Mr. Simmons, “I have been very proud of the care Interactive One has given my baby under our partnership to date, and am extremely excited to be contributing my points of view on trends and issues of utmost importance within the community, particularly social justice. GlobalGrind will continue to be a pop culture tastemaker and voice for the hip-hop generation.”
Added Mr. Skolnik: “Having worked closely with Alfred, Tom and the entire Interactive One family, I look forward to this new chapter as we collectively look to expand iOne’s coverage in the areas that matter most to our audience, and to do so while working closely with our new colleagues across the organization.”
Stated iOne President Tom Newman, “Having had the opportunity to already work closely with the GlobalGrind team during the last two years, we have a very clear understanding of how to take this wonderful brand to the next level while holding on to the aspects that have made it the powerhouse it is today with its Millennial audience.” He added, “GlobalGrind, in addition to bolstering our presence in the digital media space, nicely complements our flagship properties, including HelloBeautiful, TheUrbanDaily and NewsOne, with more to come in 2015.”
Follow K.B. Tindal on Twitter @KBTindal.
