Blog: YouHeardThatNew.com
Niche: Music/Entertainment
Founder: Nile “LowKey” Ivey
Twitter: @lowkeyuhtn /#youheardthatnew
From his brown leather couch in his apartment, Nile Ivey (better know by his nickname LowKey) has started one of the best-known hip-hop blogs in the digital space. Just 30, LowKey’s YouHeardThatNew was named Vibe magazine’s No. 9 blog on the Top 50 Rap Blogslist it published in 2010. It landed at No. 25 in The Source‘s Power 30 Digital List and has been featured on BET, MTV, HOT 97 and Power 105. He’s also the go-to person for an industry hungry to know what sounds and what artists people are gravitating to. LowKey spoke to BlackEnterprise.com about his relationship with the labels, his brand and what’s next.
YouHeardThatNew is unique because …
It provides an experience and a colorful inside look to the music business and its inner workings. More so, when I cover events and attend shows, I like to provide and paint an image that the reader or consumer wouldn’t normally see from the average coverage of said event. Nowadays it’s extremely easy to give the who, what, where, why, how and when of said event but those small intricate details are often overlooked and left out. As an industry tastemaker, influencer and host, it’s my job to convey a different message instead of simply reporting who was there and who was beefing with who.
I realized blogging was a business when …
Lables, artists, brands and managers started looking for consulting advice. It took me by surprise because I was simply looking at the blog game as a means for me to get my voice heard on a different platform. My original platform was radio, but I didn’t have enough experience in that field and my patience was short so the Internet was the next best lane for me to jump in. Once people of importance started to see how much of an influence I was, things shifted and again I had to step back and really re-evaluate what I was doing with my site and why.