August 13, 2007 @ 11:03 am

onsmash.com: The Early Adopters

by: Jon Caramanica

Where the business is. From our 2007 Juice List: The New Power Generation.

We go to OnSmash first, both for the raucous message boards and for the well-edited, and updated-daily, video selection. "We focus on stuff we feel is being slept on," says Hoffa, the twenty-something New Yorker known as OnSmash's "ringleader" (he has a day job, as do his cohorts - they prefer anonymity for legal reasons). "It gets a co-sign in our community if it's one of the videos we choose." Which means essential rap videos (remember those?) typically before they hit BET, as well as clips from TV appearances, street DVDs - anywhere a rapper is making a statement... or a fool of himself. And OnSmash serves as a hip hop YouTube: the clips are picked up by hundreds of blogs, giving the site impressive reach and clout. Even if they don't capture all that traffic, Hoffa isn't bothered. "We want to be proud of it," he says. "I don't want to do anything based on sheer volume. The day that happens is the day I lost." NAME: Hoffa, OnSmash.com
FOUNDED: 2006
BASED: New York, NY PERSONAL MOTTO:
"There's nothing worse in life than wasted talent." - DeNiro's character in A Bronx Tale SOMETHING I DO EVERY DAY FOR SANITY:
Collect sneakers/hoodies/fitteds - keep up with all the latest drops and enjoy hunting down exclusive gear. I will be the first to admit, I can be a senseless hypebeast at times." PLACE WHERE I’M MOST PRODUCTIVE:
"I do my best thinking when on train/plane/driving - always keep pen & paper or PDA handy to jot down my ideas." FAVORITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING/GOOD LUCK CHARM:
"Definitely Jordans - specifically III, IV, V, VI, XI." MOST FRUSTRATING MOMENT:
"When artists, managers & labels don't communicate with each other and I end up with a Cease & Desist in my inbox." PERSON I ADMIRE MOST/PERSON WHO TAUGHT ME HOW TO HAVE JUICE:
"Alan Grunblatt - He caught the major labels sleeping and by the time they woke up, KOCH was practically running hip hop." 5 YEARS AGO, MY GOAL WAS...:
"Trying to get label executives to pay attention to what's going on online." 5 YEARS FROM NOW, MY GOAL IS...:
"Continue helping promote and market artists through emerging technologies. My dream situation is to have an all-digital music label with my close-knit crew." BIGGEST PROBLEM FACING OUR GENERATION:
"Terrorism, our dependence on oil, Social Security, Healthcare, Immigration - you know, the basic ills of society." FAVORITE BOOK, AND WHY:
"Hitmen. Once I read it, I knew I needed to be in the music business by any means necessary." FAVORITE MOVIE, AND WHY:
"Goodfellas. Shows the evil that men do and the price we inevitably pay for our actions." SONGS I LISTEN TO WHILE I'M WORKING:
Notorious BIG, "Who Shot Ya?"; Raekwon, "Glaciers of Ice"; Nas, "New York State of Mind"; Mobb Deep, "The Start of Your Ending"; Capone -N- Noreaga f. Mobb Deep, Tragedy Khadafi, "LA, LA"

Article tags: Alan Grunblatt, Hoffa, Onsmash, Onsmash.com, Videos 

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