Okayplayer is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The community was founded by The Roots' drummer

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American musician, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thou ...

and author

Angela Nissel Angela R. Nissel (born December 5, 1978) is an American author and television writer best known for her first book ''The Broke Diaries: The Completely True and Hilarious Misadventures of a Good Girl Gone Broke''. She was a writer and executive ...

as a loose musical collective in 1987, and evolved into an online community in 1999. In 2004, Questlove launched Okayplayer Records as a spin-off of the community, in partnership with

Decon Decon'' is a New York-based creative studio that houses production, creative, strategy, and music divisions. The company creates campaigns on behalf of brands and advertising agencies. History Originally named Deconstruction Company, the comp ...

. After a near-decade hiatus, the label was rebooted in 2012 with

Danny! Daniel Keith Swain (born August 18, 1983), known mononymously as Danny!, is an American rapper, record producer, singer, and composer. Swain rose to prominence after his debut performance on ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'', where he premiered h ...

as its flagship artist. This community is made up of recording artists (who keep their official internet homes there), visitors to the site, and individuals who post on the site's message board, the most popular feature of the site. All of the artists and staff, as well as those who post to the site's messageboard, are considered "okayplayers," or "OKPs" for short. Okayplayer was one of the first online hubs through which fans could interact directly with their favorite artists. Okayplayer has been identified as an online community that allows people to bypass traditional media and network with each other.Menconi, David (2006)
Metropolis now: Halfway through the first decade of the 21st century, we've entered a new techno-cultural age
, '' The News & Observer'', January 1, 2006 An example of such a collaboration fostered by the site is the Foreign Exchange project, with Little Brother's vocalist Phonte Coleman and Dutch producer named Nicolay meeting on Okayplayer, and making an album together by sending tracks and verses back and forth over the Internet. The album, '' Connected'', was released before the pair had met in real life. According to Questlove, the site was originally a medium to chronicle the day-to-day life of his band, The Roots. However, it became a hub for urban music, politics, arts, and lifestyle. In addition to daily blog updates, the site featured popular messenger boards. Based in New York, Okayplayer eventually expanded into a label that produced live events. The site also hosts affiliated specialists sites: the Revivalist for jazz,

OkayAfrica OkayAfrica (stylized as okayafrica) is a digital media platform dedicated to African culture, music and politics. Founded in 2011 by Vanessa Wruble and Ginny Suss as a sister site to The Roots frontman Questlove's Okayplayer, the site has bec ...

for African music, LargeUp for reggae, and OkayFuture for electronic music. In 2011, Okayplayer launched its sister site, Okayafrica, focused on African culture, politics, and music. Okayplayer organize regular tours and an annual

Roots Picnic The Roots Picnic is an annual music festival created and hosted by hip hop group, The Roots. Co-founder, Shawn Gee, and manager of The Roots serves as executive producer of the festival. The festival is held in Philadelphia, their hometown at the ...

all day event.Paine, Jake (2009)
The Roots Bring Public Enemy To Annual Picnic
", ''HipHopDX'', March 17, 2009

References

External links

* {{Authority control American music websites Hip hop collectives