By Sherri L. Smith, BlackWeb20.com

New media company Moguldom Media Group continues to expand its vast digital empire with the recent launch of its newest property,HipHopWired.com. Where as big sister Bossip.com is all about the latest gossip and drama in the Hip Hop community, HipHopWired promises to tackle the broad topic of Hip Hop from a different perspective. And before you roll your eyes and write this off as just another Hip Hop publication spouting the same ole stuff on a different day, ask yourself this: When was the last time you saw a Hip Hop pub actively seeking social and political commentary from scholars like Dr. Boyce Watkins and Warren Ballentine? When was the last time that you’ve heard of a Hip Hop site that was dedicated to “rais[ing] the bar for what we expect of Hip Hop artists by asking them challenging and engaging questions?”

This refreshing look at one of the most global genres is being spearheaded by Michael “Ice Blue” Harris, Hip Hop Wired’s operations manager. If you haven’t heard of Harris, you’ve probably read his work as he’s written for some of the most prominant urban publications including VIBE, The Source, and XXL just to name a few. With a target demographic of 18-40, Harris feels that the audience is more than ready for a change of pace stating, “the people are ready for our content. A lot of times, we devalue our audience. They may go for the simpler things because that’s all they’re being offered.”

Aside from a defined focus on politics, Hip Hop Wired also plans to peel back the glossy, bling-encrusted veneer of the Hip Hop world to expose the genius and foibles of the artists we’ve come to love or loathe. Harris goes on to site the phenomenon of rappers and their ongoing love of big, obnoxious chains. “

Harris continues, “For instance, T-Pain with the whole big ass chain. We need to discuss things like that. Don’t get it twisted, we love T-Pain over here, but we ask the question is this a marketing ploy or did he really buy a big ass chain? I look at it as he’s a smart individual because those diamonds in that chain are not real, but if it gets people talking and keeps his name in the spotlight, I guess it serves its purpose. One of the things we would make a point to note that he’s not as dumb as people think. People might ask why he would spend his money on a big ass chain. We would point out the genius in that because he actually made you think that he spent all that money on that chain when it’s really a marketing ploy.”

While there’s a lot of competition vying for the top spot in the digital space, Michael takes it all in stride stating, “The Allhiphop.coms, the MTVs, the Billboards, The Hip Hop DXs, when you say competition it’s not like we hate them. I just want to clarify that because some people equate competition with hating someone and it’s nothing like that.” He’d rather focus on growing the site. While it’s only been live three weeks, Harris has big dreams of having a million vistors the site daily by the end of the year. He’s relying on a strategy of providing unique content and “to run our own lane. I think that’s where a lot of people lose focus when they’re concentrating on what the next man’s doing or the next site, or the next publication is doing instead of concentrating on what you’re supposed to be doing and going in.” The site is also running content from sibling sites Bossip and Livesteez to attract their target audience. At the end of the day, Hip Hop Wired may not reach it’s ambitious goal in a year but if it sticks to it’s mantra of “want[ing] to entertain them, but we want to also educate them as well,”  they will be making great strides.