Rapper/Actor's "Rap.com" Translates into Online Adult Success

Online, May 19, 2011 (Newswire.com) - In the early 2000's a website called detroitrap.com was developed to promote Michigan's underground hip-hop scene. At the time, there was not a branding to each cities urban music scene like there is today. The name detroitrap.com was on the forefront of internationalizing what was only found local. It became one of the first hip-hop "hub" type websites for a major US city to link to. It was a virtual front for artists to gather together and be heard collectively. Within a year of its success, website names began to disappear immediately. Folks in other major cities were beginning to follow suit. Houstonrap.com, Chicagorap.com, etc all began to pop up on the internet. The developer of Detroitrap.com saw that there was money to be made by simply buying up other major city names with the word "rap" to follow before the dot com. Surprisingly, the developer and founder of detroitrap.com did not buy those names which are now sold for an average of one thousand times their purchase price. "I didn't want to syndicate or propagate something I felt should stay local." said owner of detroitrap.com, and now iconic rapper/actor, Backstab the Kingpin. "How was I going to run neworleansrap.com if I had never been to New Orleans and didn't know anyone in that rap scene?" he asks.
Backstab the Kingpin had a vision of building detroitrap.com to show the rest of the world that the talent pool in his hometown was more vast and deeper than just Eminem and Kid Rock. He claims he did not build the site to profit or capitalize financially. "I built it because there was a talent pool around me that was better than what was on the radio...only no one knew but the handful of people who went to the shows." Stab, whose real name is Rob Chi, reflected back "It was our only tool at the time to help us coordinate locally and be heard worldwide. " Backstab realized it was the biggest tool for Detroit underground rappers at the time.
Backstab the Kingpin bought detroitrap.com in 2002 from a teenage boy who bought the web name as a fan and just wanted to show his appreciation to local talent. He had detroitrap.com as a webpage on a free hosting site. Within in couple of months of owning it, Stab had the site getting mentioned in national magazines and being featured in major local news publications like the Detroit News and Detroit Free press. Local rap groups were flocking to the site. They could meet, greet, argue and fight, set up shows, and show each other support. "My intention was to bridge the gap for all of us. My hope was to elevate us collectively." Instead, the website took on its own persona where upper echelon rappers and group managers would go to cast out insults to fellow musicians and to look down on those who were less developed. Backstab decided very quickly that he wouldn't be catering to the already successful people in Detroit like Eminem and D12. His intention was to promote the real underground rap scene that was brewing within the walls of the Motor city. Stab began to reserve stages where most local acts might not have the chance to perform at. He began to create larger scale events so the city could come see the plethora of talent they didn't know they had. "Shows like Heavy weights of hip-hop, and the Detroit Hip-Hop Awards gave these lesser known groups a chance to shine." States Baby Huey, partner (and body guard) to Backstab during the detroitrap.com era. "Stab was the biggest supporter of Detroit's hip-hop scene...perhaps ever." He adds.
Backstab the Kingpin found that owning and operating the biggest rap oriented site in Michigan became troublesome. The same PO Box he rented for album submissions soon began to fill with hate mail and death threats. The city and rap scene he was attempting to support was not pleased with his actions. "Detroit is full of haters, period." Says Huey. "Stab would show love to people that were absolutely horrible just as much as he would to talent that is now identified as the crème de la crème of underground hip-hop." Then, why the hatred toward a man that worked so hard to uplift his cities rap scene? "I was boisterous; I didn't stay silent. I promoted the beef between Royce and Em; I didn't support those who felt like I owed it to them. If they didn't support the site and our endeavors, I didn't support them." Stab says smiling. Backstab claims he was more focused on the positive movement that his website was creating. He states his proudest moment was when a virtually unknown crew from Mt Clemens named "Krown P Kamp" was asked to open up for Shady Record's newest recruit, Obie trice. "There is no question...in my mind at least...that Krown P Kamp would have never had the opportunity to open up for a major act like Obie if it wasn't for the exposure they received online and at shows from detroitrap.com." Though he never truly received the acknowledgement from that connection or others that were built through his shows and online networking, Backstab has no regrets. "Rap music is thankless." He claims.
After several attacks and death threats to his home where he had his two daughters, Backstab stepped away from the scene to gather his thoughts. "Getting attacked at MTV auditions, at the set of documentaries for the Discovery channel, fights at our events by those who were not there to perform but to just sabotage it...it got tiring." Backstab was coming to the fast realization that although he was spending lots of time and money supporting his home town rap scene, many of the players in the local community were not showing support back. In fact, many were becoming impatient if Backstab wasn't handing out headlining slots at his shows and promoting certain acts on the front page of the site. The scene Backstab was attempting to create was beginning to backfire and the situation was becoming more and more dangerous.
Backstab left Detroit in 2005 and moved to Central Florida where he signed a major contract to star in his own brand of adult films. He willingly sold the site for an undisclosed amount to his biggest critics and rivals who had nothing good to say about Detroit's Kingpin. "I knew whoever would buy it would utilize it for their financial gain and that it would become a shell of what it was when I owned it." Detroitrap.com was the blueprint for what is now a norm in world of online. An obvious name that alone will drive browsers to the site. Anyone who types in the words "Detroit" and "rap" will inevitably be directed to the site. What was once a website viewed daily by thousands across the world and visited by hundreds of locals hourly has now seem to taper off into obscurity. The guest forum is virtually vacant, and the artist featured are that of what Backstab didn't profile, the already successful. "I did it for the love of my city and hip-hop. Unfortunately it became the polar opposite. Now, I am in the business of making money online. My new site is like my own ATM." As you can see at Backstab the Kingpin's new website, he is definitely a lover not a fighter.

Feel free to visit Backstab the Kingpin's adult website that features his entire hip-hop discography and dozens of adult films at www.backstabthekingpin.com