Fatbeats NY/LA closing up shop.

[battlecatmeowstab212]

XXLMag.com has learned that famed hip-hop record store, Fat Beats, will be closing the doors on its two remaining locations in New York and Los Angeles, next month.

In honor of Fat Beatsג€™ 16 years in business, they will be throwing several tribute parties open to the public in both cities, as well as expected blow-out sales.

http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=88817

ג€œThe closing of Fat Beats is just like one of my friends passing away,ג€ DJ Premier said in a statement. ג€œThey promoted vinyl at its highest degree for the culture of good music and that makes it more difficult to say goodbye.ג€

Although the physical stores will no longer in existence, fans can still shop online and the wholesale distribution operation will also continue.

ג€œThis is the start of a new era in Fat Beats,ג€ Fat Beats owner and president Joe Abajian said, ג€œWeג€™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, weג€™re still exploring our options for alternate retail locations in the future. Weג€™re proud of our legacy and will continue to re-invent ourselves. For now, weג€™ll see you online at FatBeats.comג€ ג€”Elan Mancini

[SYM]

Where will Marvelous sling CDs now?

edit: jokes aside, definitely bummed.

[sean]

i don't know about marvelous,
but i'm sure plenty of other cats can still stand outside what used to be fat beats and sell cdr's with the same success rate as when it was open.

rip

[rawunkut]

thats horrible news...congrats music stealers

[ALASKA]

i will miss the christmas party.

that sucks.

[mike eagle]

Never been too many hand to hand salesmen in front of the LA spot. But it was just about the last place that would give you a little money upfront to put your musics in their store.

[nobs]

hello Pinkberry

[bmore21225]

I am sure everyone at UGHH are happy as hell right now :) It is a sad day that another real retail store is closeing down but that's just a fact of the MP3 life that we live in but anyway I will still find ways to buy vinyl theres still places out there just got to look around. To be honest I have not gotten really anything from Fat Beats online in a while as I buy at UGHH. I do remember the days Fat Beats was in the basement in Manhatten and you could just look around and spend a lot of money on the records in there but times have changed.

[HustleCrowe]

that's real wack, I was just there in June & always enjoyed going there when I went to NYC.


Sometimes I wish all of this digital shit didn't exist.


R.I.P.

[Thun]

90% of posters here just lost either their main reason for wanting to immigrate to the United States, the sacred spot where they first discovered hip hop, or their principle employer, or all of the above.

[intuition]

Never been too many hand to hand salesmen in front of the LA spot. But it was just about the last place that would give you a little money upfront to put your musics in their store.

percee p was always in front of that place.

[Philaflava]

Kinda of sad, not because I bought so much from there but it really does mark and end of an era. It was one of few reasons to ever be on West 4, besides Joe's Pizza. But for the past 5 years every time I walked in there I saw nothing. Nothing new. A smaller selection. The same old titles, most of which were Uncle Howie.

I'll be in NYC in a few weeks so maybe I'll make one last stop.

[ardamus]

sucks. not surprised though. i really liked the one in LA.

[SYM]

Never been too many hand to hand salesmen in front of the LA spot. But it was just about the last place that would give you a little money upfront to put your musics in their store.

percee p was always in front of that place.

first or second time i ever ran into percee p was in bagel buffet (right underneath the store), where months before the second J5 LP came out, he the excitable character played for me his verse from "a day at the races" from out of his beat-up cd walkman.

the quintessential street cd hustler outside fat beats was percee p, when he moved to LA it wasn't the same anymore.

/impressionable backpacker hip-hop nerd, 2002 (fixed year)

[drizzle]

It was one of few reasons to get off at w4th subway stop, besides Joe's Pizza.

ocd geographical nitpicking, couldn't help it

[mike eagle]

Never been too many hand to hand salesmen in front of the LA spot. But it was just about the last place that would give you a little money upfront to put your musics in their store.

percee p was always in front of that place.

I haven't seen him over there in a few years

[Philaflava]

I know this has been asked a million times already but as of Aug 2010, what record stores worth visiting in NYC?

A1? Overpriced older vinyl.
Sound Library? Every time I walk by the store itג€™s never open.
Big City? Weak selection.

[battlecatmeowstab212]

Never been too many hand to hand salesmen in front of the LA spot. But it was just about the last place that would give you a little money upfront to put your musics in their store.

percee p was always in front of that place.

first or second time i ever ran into percee p was in bagel buffet (right underneath the store), where months before the second J5 LP came out, he the excitable character played for me his verse from "a day at the races" from out of his beat-up cd walkman.

the quintessential street cd hustler outside fat beats was percee p, when he moved to LA it wasn't the same anymore.

/impressionable backpacker hip-hop nerd, 2005

Yeah, meeting Percee P was a right of passage. Creature was also always great too.

[Random Sample]

I know this has been asked a million times already but as of Aug 2010, what record stores worth visiting in NYC?

A1? Overpriced older vinyl.
Sound Library? Every time I walk by the store itג€™s never open.
Big City? Weak selection.

I loved the sound library.

Last time I was up I went to the sound library, good records ny( http://www.goodrecordsnyc.com/ ), and when I went to A1 they weren't open yet, but I ended up hitting the wfmu record fair.

It is sad, because no matter where I was or what I was doing in NYC, I always stopped into fat beats and bought something there. I used to go there and grab a gray's papaya at the corner.

[nobs]

I know this has been asked a million times already but as of Aug 2010, what record stores worth visiting in NYC?

A1? Overpriced older vinyl.
Sound Library? Every time I walk by the store itג€™s never open.
Big City? Weak selection.

A1 is good if you hit it up regularly. condition is always an issue though

Sound Library closed recently. way overpriced anyway

Big City is amazing and definitely not a weak selection and condition is always on point

Good Records same as big city. always different stuff as well

Academy in Williamsburg has an amazing turnover. tons of awesome stuff and priced fair

Academy on East 12th not as good but its a smaller store

[LadyDeathStrizzy]

shitty

[multsanta]

I always do well at the Academys.

[Thun]

I always do well at the Academys.

Hollywood Whore

[Philaflava]

Thanks Nobs and Random.

[Echo Leader]

Never been too many hand to hand salesmen in front of the LA spot. But it was just about the last place that would give you a little money upfront to put your musics in their store.

percee p was always in front of that place.

first or second time i ever ran into percee p was in bagel buffet (right underneath the store), where months before the second J5 LP came out, he the excitable character played for me his verse from "a day at the races" from out of his beat-up cd walkman.

the quintessential street cd hustler outside fat beats was percee p, when he moved to LA it wasn't the same anymore.

/impressionable backpacker hip-hop nerd, 2005

Yeah, meeting Percee P was a right of passage. Creature was also always great too.

I met Creature in front of Fat Beats in 2005 and was coerced into buying one of his cds that has collected dust ever since. He had me half-convinced that his record really was the hottest shit on the planet. Nice guy, though. Chopped it up on some bullshit for a minute. Dude is a born hustler/networker and will not likely suffer because of Fat Beats' closure.

[aeokq]

Too bad...I've hit the store up on Melrose many a time(live in LA). Most recently bought the Blacastan album there. Place emanates hip hop. I'll be paying my final respects.

I remember calling the store and asking DJ Rhettmatic, who works there, to identify a beat from a Wake Up Show freestyle cd I had. It was this Motion Man freestyle and I had wondered about the beat for several years. He identified it in a second. It was No I.D.- The Real Weight, such a banger.

[aleph]

First time I went the store was in the original downstairs location on E9th. I went there to pick up the "Cenubites" EP the week it dropped, and while I was at it, The Juggaknots mini-LP, and Kool Keith's Wanna Be A Star/Sly We Fly.

The last time I was there was when Q-Unique was still working the register. I don't think he enjoyed it; dude wasn't exactly Guy Smiley.

[PopsUK]

I know this has been asked a million times already but as of Aug 2010, what record stores worth visiting in NYC?

A1? Overpriced older vinyl.
Sound Library? Every time I walk by the store itג€™s never open.
Big City? Weak selection.

A1 is good if you hit it up regularly. condition is always an issue though

Sound Library closed recently. way overpriced anyway

Big City is amazing and definitely not a weak selection and condition is always on point

Good Records same as big city. always different stuff as well

Academy in Williamsburg has an amazing turnover. tons of awesome stuff and priced fair

Academy on East 12th not as good but its a smaller store

Sound Library is closed?

It always seems weird to me that there doesn't seem to be that many good spots for used records and CDs in NYC. I took a trip to Chicago recently and there seems to be records stores everywhere I turned... why not in NYC?

And on topic... sucks that Fat Beats is going down. I still buy there regularly.

[Big Breeze]

I saw Percee P there several times at the LA store on Melrose. That muthafucka would be at all kind of venues where shows took place trying to sell his vinyl and CD's and then he would make it inside of the spot.

I bought "Legendary Status" from him outside of the Avalon. Felt sorry for dude. He be looking all bummy and shit.

He used to stand outside of the NY spot and do the same shit.

[Kace]

90% of posters here just lost either their main reason for wanting to immigrate to the United States, the sacred spot where they first discovered hip hop, or their principle employer, or all of the above.