Elizabeth Ladzinski
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
GREENWICH VILLAGE — Fat Beats, Manhattan's mecca for hip-hop, will spin its final record on Saturday.
The store, which is closing due to skyrocketing rents, has been an essential music destination for rap aficionados across the city and beyond since it opened in 1994 because it was one of the few record shops that sold only rap albums. It was also the place to find underground hip-hop not heard on the radio or found in mainstream music stores.
“The music industry took a hit way before the economy even took a hit, so with both of those things in effect it’s just so hard to keep going here,” said Eric Winn, aka DJ Eclipse, manager of the New York store. "Everything keeps going up but the income.”
New York’s “Last Stop for Hip Hop” was founded by music producer and DJ, Joseph Abajian, and soon became a worldwide music destination, with outlets in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Tokyo. The last store still in business — in Los Angeles — will close Sept. 18.
Ari, aka DJ Reconstructor, from the Bronx, has been digging his fingers through the vinyl at Fat Beats for 13 years, and is sad to see the store close.
"To not have a place to buy the music, it's just like... it's heartbreaking," he said. "What do we got now? We ain't got nothin' but what, the computer? That's corny."
Fat Beats won't completely cease to exist, though. The company will continue to distribute wholesale records to retailers, and will also continue its online sales and its record label.
While Fat Beats has always carried the big names in hip-hop as well as classic LP's, the store is best known for carrying underground, local, and up-and-coming artists.
One Manhattan resident, "Eric," is known at the store for buying solely independent records.
"Everyday, he calls, and if there's something new he'll come in and get it, but he doesn't like anything mainstream," Winn said. "He'll come in every single day and buy whatever's new that day. He's definitely one I'm gonna remember when we get out of here."
The shop was just as much a place to discover new music as it was a community hangout, where new DJs could make contacts in the music industry and hip-hop lovers could see their favorite artists perform in-store shows, Winn said.
"The saddest part about us closing is that you're losing the meeting place," Winn said. "People are asking, 'Well where do we go now?', you know, 'If we need to meet somebody where do we meet them?' It's a shame."
Fat Beats is located at 406 Avenue of the Americas. The last day to purchase vinyl in the store is Saturday, Sept. 4.
