Hip-hop porn appears to have found a permanent place in the adult industry, and Fatt Entertainment has positioned itself on the forefront of the movement.
The two-year-old company that brought superstar Ice-T into the mix in 2002 and then recruited rising rap star Knoc-turn'al into the porno ranks last year has more big plans in the works.
"The progression has been incredible," co-owner Al Thornton told AVN. "All of our ideas about making Fatt into what it is today have happened. We are definitely trying to, or have cornered, the market with the hip-hop and porn worlds mixing. We will continue to do that in terms of shooting more hip-hop stars."
Thornton, whose partners are Todd Blatt and Arthur Gregory, said Fatt was close to locking up Westside Connection's Mack 10 for its next hip-hop porn video.
"He's ready to go. It's just up to us right now," Thornton said. "What also makes Fatt, in my opinion, is I have original music from producers in the mainstream music world. They score it for me. I'm also proud of that. It's not that cheesy adult shit."
Thornton managed a couple of platinum artists between 1989-1994 and remains friends with numerous music producers.
"Those ties have never let go," he said.
Gregory is also closely involved in the music business with his label, Hard 2 Hit Records, featuring the artist Dirty South.
While Fatt has since branched into more traditional gonzo fare, the "heart and soul" of the company is hip-hop.
"Our intentions are to do two to four of these big titles a year," Thornton said.
Fatt launched with the high-profile Ice-T's Pimpin 101 that gained national notoriety. It followed that up with Knoc-turn'al's Record Release Party, which was shot last summer but released this year, featuring Dr. Dre protégé Knoc-turn'al as the host. The sequel was due to hit the streets the first week of July.
Fatt Entertainment, whose parent company is the well-established Antigua Pictures, took over its own distribution from Cherry Boxxx Pictures just before press time in late June. Todd Blatt owns Antigua Pictures.
"Antigua has been around for 15 years, and it is completely credited here in the States and overseas," Thornton told AVN. "This new entity can only help that push. Todd is a genius when it comes to marketing and pushing and developing companies. How could Fatt not reap those benefits? It's a plus overseas, and it's a plus here domestically."
When Thornton ventured into adult, he partnered with brothers Todd and Jon Blatt for Snatch Productions. They sold Snatch before forming Fatt, and Jon Blatt recently returned to the company after a stint at Pure Play Media to oversee its new domestic sales division.
"We know how to make the program work; we've been doing it for a while," Jon Blatt, who used to run Extreme Associates and has 20-plus years in the adult industry on his resume, told AVN. "We have 13 titles so far, so it's not a fast process, but things are moving nice."
Among Fatt's other releases are Fresh Ass Whores, Anal Impact, Asshole Passion, Ass Junkies, Asian Dick Jockies, Hip-Hop Debutantes and Interracial Cum Junkies.
Thornton said Fatt is interested is signing a new black male performer to an exclusive deal. He said he wants to build up a guy similar to Lexington Steele and Justin Slayer.
"A young cat of their caliber that wants to come wreck shop. … We'll market this guy 100 percent. That's my immediate goal for the summer," he said.
Meanwhile, the company in July was preparing to launch unprecedented, spin-off Websites featuring Ice T and Knoc-turn'al. Pimpin101.com and icetxxx.com were set to go live in early July, while knocturnalxxx.com was scheduled to launch a week later. Both sites will feature new content based on the original DVDs with hosting appearances by both rap stars. Visitors will pay a membership fee to view hardcore scenes introduced by the rappers, who are working with Fatt on the venture. Antigua Pictures has signed with triplexcash.com as its affiliate program. Fatt is also hosting jordanhaze.com.
Blatt said the company, which now releases two titles per week, would begin shooting everything in HDTV in early July.
Contact Fatt Entertainment at 21110 Nordoff St., Chatsworth, CA 91311. P: 818.709.7400. F: 818.709.7489.
