Shakir Stewart's Legacy Continues With Hip Hop Channel

Thanks to childhood friend of Shakir Stewart, Shawn Granberry and movie producer Robert Watts III the legacy of the late Def Jam executive will continue with the launch of The Hip Hop Music Channel. A dream of Stewart’s for quite some time, The Hip Hop Music Channel (HHMC) will launch on his birthday, April 12.

“The Hip Hop Music Channel is focused on becoming the number one distributor and marketer of hip hop culture in the world,” Shawn Granberry, CEO of The Hip Hop Music Channel explained in a statement. “Our focus on the emerging Asian market will introduce new and old hip hop artist[s] to emerging markets around the world. There [are] hundreds of millions of hip hop fans worldwide and we are positioned to deliver top tier hip hop culture to those fans.”

When the HHMC launches in April it will broadcast online and will also broadcast traditionally in several countries including Nigeria, Australia, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and more.

Available 24/7, HHMC will give viewers the opportunity to run the channel by choosing the music line-up.

Serving as a joint venture with Imverse Asia, HHMC will tap into a growing demographic and will also be able to capitalize on the numerous advertising possibilities available in the Asian market.

“The emerging Asian market represents a market opportunity that is 45 times that of the US with China alone having 320 million people in the 16 to 34 demographic,” Alan Crutchfield, CEO of Imverse Asia said in a statement. “Hip hop is the number one growing music genre in the world and has a huge fan base through-out the world. Our joint venture represents the future of entertainment distribution in emerging markets around the world.”

Viewers in the United States will be able to check out HHMC when it launches online at www.hhmctv.com.