Breaking: World Star Hip Hop Teaming Up With Adult Swim And Heading To Television

Earlier this month, it was reported that the popular and controversial hip hop site World Star Hip Hop (WSHH) has partnered with Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. Adult Swim’s programming is geared toward a more mature audience, and with the success of the Boondocks animated series and Tyler The Creator’s variety show, Loiter Squad, a WSHH project would be a natural fit.

Details are still scarce, but theGrio.com caught up with John Holland, a writer for the upcoming WSHH TV venture to get more scoop. Holland gave us a better idea of what fans can expect from the pilot. 

TG: How much input did Q, CEO of WSSH, have in the creation? 

First off, let me say that Q is a really cool dude. Like, my first thought was he’s going to be some Suge Knight kinda guy that was obsessed with street fights and what not, but he’s a really friendly, tech-savvy guy. After the last day, he asked if he could take a picture with us? Us? You? Man we should be asking you for that (and he even sought out and tagged us on Instagram). He pretty much had access to anyone we could imagine.
It was just a matter of convincing people that we’re not making fun of them but having fun WITH them. 

TG: Adult Swim in the past has been known to push the envelope, but most would consider World Star Hip Hop to be a pretty extreme. How will WSHH fit within on a TV platform? 

Adult Swim is always about being different. If you really look at their shows, they’re not comparable to any other show on any other network. We’re definitely going to push the show to its limit, but with the room of writers we had, it’s not just going to be trashy, lowbrow comedy (maybe a stripper or ten). 

It’s really some good writing with awesome stories and twists no one will see coming, while keeping it gritty and raw. I think those combinations make it fit well within Adult Swim. 

TG: How does a brand that began as “ratchet” transition into the mainstream? 

Honestly, we’ll find out with the show. Honestly, with WSHH already having such a strong brand, anyone willing to do anything with them must know what comes with the territory. Of course, it’s not total anarchy. 

We still have network guidelines and Standards and Practices to obey, but you don’t approach WSHH unless you want a little ratchet in your life.

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50 Cent Wins Lawsuit Against WorldStarHipHop

It was a long time coming but it seems Curtis Jackson, b.k.a. his stage name 50 Cent is getting the last laugh in his fight to bring popular video site WorldStarHipHop to its knees. The superstar rapper originally filed a lawsuit in 2009 against the company and its owner Lee “Q” O’Denat for copyright infringement. On Monday, March 24, a judge ruled in his favor.

50 Cent has gotten a partial victory in a lawsuit brought against a DJ who ran hip-hop website WorldStarHipHop.com. The main controversy in the lawsuit had to do with the website’s masthead featuring an image of the rapper.

In a ruling on Monday, a federal judge granted the hip-hop star summary judgment on copyright and right of publicity claims. In doing so, the judge rejected affirmative defenses including fair use. According to the ruling, “Defendants provide no authority to support the fair use of a celebrity’s image or likeness.

This is not surprising, as a celebrity’s image, standing alone, only evokes that celebrity’s persona. Jackson’s image does not, by itself, describe anything about Defendants’ website.” The entire cliffnotes of the case are available for public consumption here.

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Washington Post Columnist Calls For “Death Of World Star Hip Hop”

Worldstarhiphop.com is one of the most visited entertainment websites in the world. The site features music videos from both well-established artists and up-and-coming performers. It also highlights videos that depict violent acts often committed by young, black individuals.

 

In response to those depictions of violence, activist and writer Rahiel Tesfamariam penned an op-ed for the Washington Post titled “Death of World Star Hip Hop (D.O.WSHH).” 

In the article, Tesfamariam calls for World Star to experience “brand damaging from hip-hop artists and community activists” similar to Jay Z’s take down of auto-tune on his 2009 track “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-tune).” While acknowledging WSHH’s right to freedom of speech, she also brands the website as “one of the most culturally damaging media platforms in existence today.” 

Tesfamariam is just the latest public figure to offer criticism of World Star. Last year members of the Zulu Nation started a petition to persuade the site to remove “Hip Hop” from its name. The Minister of Information for the Zulu Nation, Quadeer “MC Spice” Shakur, argued that World Star was misrepresenting the foundations and true principles of Hip Hop.

“WorldStarHipHop has no respect, as far as I’m concerned, for our people and our music,” Shakur told AllHipHop.com last March. “If it was in fact just a site for what we call ‘entertainment’ then let it be known at the bottom of your page. Put some kind of disclaimer that you are not in fact involved in or a part of real Hip Hop culture.”
In the same article, one of the forefathers of Hip Hop, Grandmaster Melle Mel, also expressed his opinion that WSHH was not a true representation of the culture. 

“WorldStarHipHop has no more to do with Hip Hop than FedEx has to do with the federal government,” said Melle Mel. 

While World Star has its critics, the site also has its defenders. Huff Post Live hosted the Google+ discussion “Do ‘Hood Sites’ Normalize Black Stereotypes?” moderated by Marc Lamont Hill. Panelist Mandon Lovett offered his take that WSHH is only shining a light on the violence that’s happening in urban America. The independent filmmaker reinforced World Star’s tag that the site is the “CNN of the Ghetto.” 

Chicago rapper Rhymefest also defended World Star during the Huff Post exchange. He points out that other video streaming sites provide the same type of content as WSHH.
“We’re not here talking about YouTube,” said Rhymefest. “We’re not here talking about Vimeo. We’re not sitting here talking about all of these sites that do the same thing that World Star does.” 

In her WashPost piece, Tesfamariam addresses those who stand up for WSHH. 

“To defend World Star Hip Hop is to defend the normalization of violent stereotypes and exploitation of pain, anger and brokenness,” she writes.
 

allhiphop