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WorldStarHipHop

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Not to be confused withWordStar.
WorldStarHipHop
Type of site
Entertainment
OwnerMediaLab AI Inc.[1]
Founder(s)Lee O'Denat
URLworldstarhiphop.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedAugust 9, 2005;18 years ago(2005-08-09)[2]
Current statusActive

WorldStarHipHopis acontent-aggregatingvideo blog.[3]Founded in 2005, the site averaged 1.2 million unique visitors a day in 2011.[4]The site, operated byWorldstar, LLC,[5]was founded byLee "Q" O'Denat.[6]Described byVibeas a "remnant of theGeocitiesgeneration ", the site regularly features shocking events caught on video, music videos and assorted content targeted to young audiences. O'Denat who referred to himself as a"Haitianghetto nerd ",[7]described WorldStarHipHop as the "CNNof theghetto".[8]

The website first became infamous for postingshockvideos.[8]Many of the early videos of shocking events had goneviral.[3]According toGothamist's John Del Signore, "The site's popularity has created a sort of voyeuristic feedback loop, in which disassociated bystanders immediately videotape shocking incidents and act as if they're already watching a video on the Internet".[9]Jeff Himmelman ofThe New York Timesstated in 2013 that the website "does many things but mostly hosts videos of fights."[10]

By 2012,BEThad voted WorldStarHipHop as the "top hip hop and urban culture website" for three years in a row.[5]

History[edit]

Initial launch[edit]

Lee "Q" O'Denat was aHollis, Queens–based hip-hop fan[4]who attendedGrover Cleveland High Schoolbefore graduating.[11]He started the website in August 2005 with Ari Armani as a distributor ofmixtapes.[8][12]Shortly after the website's launch, hackers destroyed the website. O'Denat later restarted it as a content aggregator.[8]Thereafter, WorldStar focused on hip hop beefs which were previously popular through "street DVDs" such asSmack,The Come Upand others. O'Denat used the setup ofOnSmash.com,a website which had already been distributing similar material. O'Denat said that this led to tension between the two websites. He added "Once we went 100 percent video, showing that original hood stuff, we prevailed."[11]

By 2012 companies and artists were using the platform as an advertising tool, includingP. Diddywith a promotional video ofCîrocvodka having premiered on WorldStar.[11]

Death of O'Denat[edit]

On January 23, 2017, founder and CEO Lee "Q" O'Denat died ofatherosclerotic cardiovascular diseaseat the age of 43, with morbid obesity as a contributing factor.[13][14]

Worldstar as a word[edit]

In some videos of violent fights, people chant "World Star" in recognition that the video may be posted on the website.[15]

One 2012 video, showing anElyria, Ohio(Greater Cleveland) woman, Tashay D. Edwards, beating another woman, went viral. Edwards became so well known that it trended onTwitteralong with the name "WorldStarHipHop".[16]The video received about one million views in a single day.[17]

Controversies[edit]

Bill O'Reillyattacked WorldStarHipHop and its president after watching a video of a kid talking about his plans to kill then-presidentGeorge W. Bush.O'Reilly said, "I believe theSecret Serviceshould arrest the parents of this kid and the purveyor of the website (Q) ", calling it a" crime "that this was allowed up after the video was banned on other sites.[18]

WorldStarHipHop has been in cases involving lawsuits forcopyright infringement.In one case,Scott v. WorldStarHipHop,[19]a video surfaced of a fight between a man (Scott) and his current and former girlfriend. The video was recorded by a Mr. Seymour and posted to the site. WSHH names the video "Disgraceful: College Fight In NYC Breaks Out Between A Guy, His Girl & Another Girl In Class! (Man Strong Arm's [sic] The Student. Hitting Her With Body Shots)." Shortly after the video was posted Scott was given copyright to the video by Mr. Seymour. He filed for a takedown notice so that WSHH would take down the video. He explained that WS did not have his permission to put up the video of the fight.

Rapper50 Cent(Curtis Jackson) also sued WorldStarHipHop in 2009 for using his image on their site without his permission. Jackson claimed that WorldStar and O'Denat used his images on the website which led people to believe that he was one of the owners of the site. He explained that O'Denat tarnished his image by having his image up on the site without his permission. After a five-year battle, Jackson finally won the case against WorldStar.[20]

Criticism[edit]

David ZurawikofThe Baltimore Sunsaid in 2012 that "Now in its sixth year, WorldStar is seen by many critics as yet another example of the coarsening ofU.S. cultureand life—another low on a downward continuum that extends from theJerry Springer-style trash-talk shows of the 1980s and 1990s through to theTMZ.comandRadarOnlinewebsites of today. "[3]Some media observers argued that, in the words of Zurawik, "because of its African-American identity, it has the potential to be used by some viewers to create or fuel stereotypes of urban America as an out-of-control, chaotic space dominated by young, violent, African-American men."[3]Nsenga Burton, the editor at large ofThe Rootand an associate professor atGoucher College,described the site as "basically shock video. They comb the pop cultural landscape for videos that are shocking on multiple levels and feed into peoples' voyeuristic tendencies."[3]In 2013, rapperChildish Gambinoreleased a song called "Worldstar" about its popularity as a website and the sensationalism that it encourages, particularly in how many violent acts that are filmed and showcased on the site go viral.

References[edit]

  1. ^"Brands | MediaLab".www.medialab.la.Retrieved2023-06-07.
  2. ^"WorldStarHipHop WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info – DomainTools".WHOIS.Retrieved2016-08-17.
  3. ^abcdeZurawik, David."Worldstarhiphop.com makes a name for itself with shocking viral videosArchived2013-04-13 at theWayback Machine".The Baltimore Sun.March 23, 2012. Retrieved on April 22, 2012.AlternateArchived2013-09-26 at theWayback Machinelink to the same article from theOrlando Sentinel."World Star is just basically shock video," said Nsenga Burton, an associate professor at Goucher College and editor-at-large for the African-American-focused website The Root. "They comb the pop cultural landscape for videos that are shocking on multiple levels and feed into peoples' voyeuristic tendencies."
  4. ^ab"WorldStarHipHop EXPOSED: The Truth Behind The Controversial Site".VIBE.2011-03-28.Archivedfrom the original on 2011-05-01.Retrieved2011-04-24.
  5. ^abGranick, Jennifer. "New Year, New JobArchived2013-01-07 at theWayback Machine".The Center for Internet and Society.Stanford Law School.January 9, 2012. Retrieved on November 30, 2012.
  6. ^Kurutz, Steven (2015-11-02)."The Creator of WorldStarHipHop Plots His Second Act".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archivedfrom the original on 2015-11-03.Retrieved2015-11-03.
  7. ^Jacobson, Mark. "WorldStar, Baby!"New York Magazine.February 5, 2012.1.Retrieved on April 24, 2012. Also available atGeneral OneFile.
  8. ^abcdMilo, Peter V. "'CNN Of The Ghetto': WorldStarHipHop Becoming YouTube for Urban ViolenceArchived2012-05-02 at theWayback Machine".CBS News.March 29, 2012. Retrieved on April 23, 2012.
  9. ^"Police Seek 3 Men For Beating L Train Rider Who Scolded Them For Spitting".Gothamist. 16 November 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 4 May 2012.Retrieved7 December2011.
  10. ^Himmelman, Jeff. "Frank Ocean Can FlyArchived2017-02-07 at theWayback Machine."The New York Times.February 7, 2013. Retrieved on March 23, 2013. Also inThe New York Times Magazinep. 27-31,38,45,48.ISSN0028-7822.Available onProQuest.
  11. ^abcJacobson, Mark. "World Star, Baby!"New York.February 5, 2012.2Archived2012-05-03 at theWayback Machine.Retrieved on November 2, 2012. Also available atGeneral OneFile.
  12. ^"worldstarhiphop.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info".DomainTools.
  13. ^France, Lisa (January 24, 2017)."Lee 'Q' O'Denat, WorldStarHipHop founder, dies at 43".CNN.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-01-25.RetrievedJanuary 25,2017.
  14. ^Hamilton, Matt (January 24, 2017)."Founder of WorldStarHipHop dies at San Diego massage parlor".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-06-17.RetrievedJune 10,2017.
  15. ^Curry, Colleen. "World Star Hip Hop Provides Home for Fights, Sex and ViolenceArchived2012-04-22 at theWayback Machine."ABC News/20/20.February 8, 2012. Retrieved on May 6, 2012.
  16. ^"Tashay WSHH Fight Video: Teen Arrested After Brutal Beatdown Over Twitter BeefArchived2013-08-02 at theWayback Machine."International Business Times.April 18, 2012. Retrieved on November 15, 2012.
  17. ^"Twitter argument turns into brutal real-life beat-downArchived2013-06-10 at theWayback Machine."MSN.April 19, 2012. Retrieved on November 15, 2012.
  18. ^"Bill O'Reilly Attacks Worldstarhiphop".youtube.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-03-08.Retrieved13 April2015.
  19. ^"Scott v. WorldStarHipHop, Inc".Digital Media Project.Archivedfrom the original on 2015-04-02.Retrieved13 April2015.
  20. ^"50 Cent Gets Victory in Lawsuit Against WorldStarHipHop".allhiphop.com.March 27, 2014.Archivedfrom the original on 2015-04-08.Retrieved13 April2015.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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