OnSMASH, previously OnSmash.com, is a hip hop blog founded by Kevin "Hof" Hofman,Blanco, Alvin.
Hip-Hop Site FreeOnSmash Debuts After OnSmash Seizure
." ''

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

''. January 19, 2011. Retrieved on November 2, 2012. a native of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

.Sisario, Ben.
Piracy Fight Shuts Down Music Blogs
." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. December 13, 2010. Retrieved on November 2, 2012. It is a part of the blog family New Music Cartel (NMC). OnSMASH LLC, the corporate entity, has its headquarters in

Huntington, New York The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. ...

History

The website was founded in 2006. ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' described it as a "hip hop

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

". OnSmash.com was the original outlet to post material from rappers like

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is an American rapper, record executive, and actor from Harlem, New York City. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed to Lance "Un" ...

and

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

engaging in beef that had not yet been reported through mediums like BET and MTV. Lee Q. O'Denat, the founder of

WorldStarHipHop WorldStarHipHop is a content-aggregating video blog. Zurawik, David.Worldstarhiphop.com makes a name for itself with shocking viral videos". ''The Baltimore Sun''. March 23, 2012. Retrieved on April 22, 2012Alternate link to the same article fro ...

, used the setup of OnSmash.com to make his own website, hiring coders to steal the source code of the original OnSMASH player. O'Denat said that this led to tension between the two websites. The site focused on fight videos and unadulterated content that had nothing to do with music, unlike OnSMASH, which kept its ear for new talent and only posted music and videos to better the culture. Before OnSMASH was a blog, the forums served as a big part of the rap Internet. Users all gathered to talk about music, share music and post funny things from their lives. It birthed many interesting topics and characters, making OS the hub for culture on the underground level way before blogs. The community grew strong and currently holds over 2 million posts to date. On November 25, 2010 (

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

), the

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...

seized the domain name due to allegations of selling of counterfeit goods and piracy. Hofman initially believed that hackers had removed the site, but he later learned that the U.S. government had taken it down. Ben Sisario of ''

'' said "OnSmash.com and the handful of other music blogs shut down by the government post brand-new songs and videos without licenses, but much of that material is often leaked to them by managers, music labels and even the artists themselves." Alvin Blanco of ''

'' said "Reaction to the over-zealousness of authorities in shuttering the website last Thanksgiving Day was swift, with artists and fans bemoaning the fact that an outlet for new music from up-and-coming acts was unfairly targeted." Hoffman purchased the

domain name A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. As ...

"FreeOnSmash.com" after the seizure of the original OnSmash.com. The new website opened on January 18, 2011. Blanco said "a quick visit reveals that its DNA remains the same" despite the new domain name. Hoffman said "Initially I planned to fall back and use this domain to chronicle our legal situation. After seeing the public outcry from artists and users alike, I felt we owed it to the culture to come back better than ever. We launched a refreshed version of the website and video player yesterday but have many new plans in store. I think this whole experience has forced us to evolve and look ahead." In March 2012, Hoffman's lawyer submitted a memorandum to the government offering a compromise to negotiate the return of the site so long as he paid what the government determined to be its appraised value, $7. Three and a half years later, in late 2015, the five-year statute of limitations on the seizure ran out and the site was returned to Hoffman.Sisario, Be
5 Years and $7 Later, U.S. Returns a Seized Hip-Hop Site
''New York Times''. January 4, 2015

References

7. "Onsmash One Of The Bes
Entertainment Blog 2020"
TopCitySound. May 20, 2020

External links

OnSMASH
at FreeOnSmash.com
OnSmash.com
(Archive) *
Notice of the website's seizure
{{Hip hop websites Hip hop websites Internet services shut down by a legal challenge Music blogs