In 2003, a then twenty-three-year-old Asya Shein founded Fusicology.com to help promote the urban music she loved. Since then the site has become a beacon of urban alternative culture, attracting more than fifteen thousand readers a day to its extensive listings and editorial coverage of clubs, concerts and events that cater to all aspects of urban culture, from the most underground rap battles and funk concerts to the trendiest nightclubs and biggest raves.
Still under Shein's direction, Fusicology.com currently provides hand-picked event listings for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Washington DC, Detroit, Atlanta, New Orleans and the San Francisco Bay, with Boston and Miami launching in February. Further plans in 2007 include expansion of coverage to Dallas, Houston and overseas in Amsterdam, Tokyo and London.
But the events site is only the most visible arm of Shein's empire: Fusicology also provides sophisticated online marketing services and event production for major corporate clients including Puma, HBO, the Seattle Seahawks and Blue Note Records. With her booking agency Mir Media, Shein has worked with Viktor Duplaix, KCRW's Garth Trinidad, Jazzy Jeff and members of Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and the Roots. And Fusicology gives back to the urban music community that inspired it--in addition to producing events that helped raise money
for The Bob Marley Foundation, the Common Ground Foundation and the Marcus Garvey Center in L.A., Shein co-founded the J Dilla Foundation, which helped support the family of the late James ''"J. Dilla''" Yancey after his passing.
Expect big things from fusicology.com in 2007. Stay tuned: The revolution may not be televised, but it'll definitely be covered on the Internet.