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  On Monday, digital media company Interactive One, which is the parent company of NewsOne, announced a partnership with businessman and hip-hop icon Russell Simmons, founder of GlobalGrind and NARRATIVE: The Culture Lab.

Interactive One Studios will oversee the management of both GlobalGrind, the self-described “hip-pop” website, and NARRATIVE, “a digital marketing, entertainment and technology company,” by increasing the respective sites’ traffic, engagement, content, and revenue.

Of the latest additions, Interactive One President Tom Newman says, “GlobalGrind.com has been one of the most important urban crossover content platforms in the space. Joining their brand, content, and offline presence together with the core digital competencies we’ve developed is incredibly exciting.”

While Interactive One CEO Alfred C. Liggins III added, “True to his legacy, Russell has built an online platform loved by both audiences and advertisers alike. I am honored to partner with him in this next phase of GlobalGrind and welcome it as an Interactive One Studios’ signature client.”

Other Interactive One Studios partners include BlackAmericaWeb, Reach Media, Sister 2 Sister, and BlackDoctor, among others.

Meanwhile, Simmons calls the new merger “the best of all worlds”:

“Having the strongest urban digital publishing partner in Alfred Liggins’ Interactive One, while retaining GlobalGrind’s unique content vision and sales representation, gives us the best of all worlds — a powerful partnership that gives us scale along with the independence and continuity to reach millions.”