“To say there are videos like this on YouTube, denies the overall market niche that WorldStarHipHop occupies. “You know, I don’t mean this facetiously, but I have quite a nose for finding racism where other people seem to not see it, but I can’t really give him this one,” she said. Tricia Rose, a professor of Africana Studies and the incoming director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University, says she doesn’t think racism is at the heart of the critiques of WorldStar. If I had different attire, different ethnic, wore button-ups or whatever, they wouldn’t really look down on me.” “It’s very easy to point your fingers at me,” he said. O’Denat argues you can find the same videos on YouTube. The subjects of many WorldStar videos are African American and critics say they perpetuate the ugliest stereotypes about life in urban communities. In addition to advertising dollars, the site also courts controversy. “I want to get involved with A-list people that are going to help us grow the company and help take it to that next plateau,” he said. O’Denat admits the site’s influence is growing rapidly and says he’s on the lookout for talent. O’Denat claims he has had a hand in the success of popular artists like Chief Keef and French Montana. WorldStarHipHop has made a name for itself among musicians, both emerging and established, who want their videos to reach millions of viewers. The site’s sales manager says what looks like secrecy is evidence of nothing more than a fast-growing, lucrative company struggling to create infrastructure. He won’t say what WorldStar is worth, and when asked how many employees he has, he says “a little under five.” Several offices around the country that are listed online as Worldstar LLC have phone numbers that have been disconnected or ring out. O’Denat is cagey when asked how much the site brings in each year. We’re just gonna have to work with them.” Not until later on they decided, well, the site is too big. “Advertisers were afraid of us,” he said. O’Denat says the site’s racier content used to be a problem for advertisers. In recent days, ads for Fiber One, Walmart and Bloomingdale’s have appeared on WorldStarHipHop. The sheer number of viewers is likely what attracts mainstream advertisers. The Cleveland video has nearly 18 million views on WorldStar alone and was picked up by dozens of other websites. They don’t get paid, but they do get bragging rights. WorldStar’s popularity can be partially attributed to outrageous videos captured on cell phones, like that of a Cleveland bus driver punching a female passenger in the face after a verbal argument. “I knew with the camera phones coming out, now everyone can be a cameraman, director.” “When YouTube signed with Google, I just figured, this is the future,” he said. WorldStarHipHop began as music website in 2005, and still features mostly music videos, but O’Denat says in 2007, he recognized that times were changing. He moves between his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., and New York, Miami and Los Angeles. WorldStarHipHop is a success story online, but the company has no physical offices. O’Denat says he is traveling a lot these days. It’s one of my favorite hotels in the country.” He’s recovering from the flu and skips breakfast in favor of orange juice and bottled water. Lee “Q” O’Denat, the founder of WorldStarHipHop, seems at home in the rooftop garden of the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, a lavish establishment that screams discretion, where the waitstaff know him by name.
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