Today on Facebook, local hip-hop label Rhymesayers announced that Fifth Element, the Uptown boutique it’s operated since 1999, will not be reopening whenever the coronavirus pandemic ends.

The post suggested that this decision predated the current health crisis: “Last year, while discussing our next steps for 2020 and the coming decade, we began developing some creative new strategies to better serve the needs of our artists and our community and we’re excited to begin this work.”

In addition, the Fifth Element website will also be shutting down on April 1, at which point Rhymesayers merch will be available instead on the label’s website. Until then, they’re offering 25 percent off all items with the code THANK YOU.

This is the second major decision to scale back its public presence Rhymesayers made this year. In January, the label announced that it would not be holding Soundset, its annual music festival, this year.

This is a good opportuniity to remind you that you can still shop at many of your favorite local record stores online. We've got a few suggestions here.