Started From the Blog: The Untold Story of Spate Media’s Early Rise in Podcasting, YouTube, and Streaming

In 2006, while the rest of the world was still flipping through magazines and catching music on the radio, I was already looking toward the future—and building it. That’s when I founded Spate Media, a digital-first platform dedicated to hip hop, culture, and emerging voices.

What began as a small print run of Spate Magazine quickly evolved. I saw where the world was headed. Print was dying. The internet was rising. Blogs were the new magazines—so I pivoted. I launched SpateHipHopNews.com and never looked back.

By 2007, I created Spate Radio, one of the earliest hip hop podcasts before the term “podcaster” was even mainstream. I was interviewing artists, covering stories, and sharing cultural commentary through audio at a time when iTunes was still finding its footing in podcasting.

In the same era, I created my first YouTube channel in 2006—years before creators were monetizing or going viral. I began producing documentaries, interviews, and raw video content to showcase independent talent and tell stories that the mainstream ignored.

And while most people today think of Twitch as the king of livestreaming, I was already in the game when it was called Justin.tv. I was streaming early Spate content live before "streamer" was even a career path.

Fast forward almost 20 years later, and Spate Media has interviewed icons, helped break future stars, and remained independent and ahead of the curve. The blog that replaced a print magazine now reaches over 35,000 readers a month. The podcast has racked up over 1 million downloads, and our YouTube presence continues to grow.

I might not always get the credit, but I’ve always known the truth: I was building media empires before it was cool.

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