WorldStarHipHop founder Lee O’Denat dies at 43

The WorldStarHipHop website grew from a place for music to a viral video phenomenon in the mid 2000s. In fact, its influence is still keenly being felt, as the website successfully transitioned to the social media era, covering African American and pop culture in general.

Unfortunately, the website is left a little poorer this week with the news that founder Lee O’Denat died on Monday as a result of a heart attack.

The news was first reported by TMZ overnight and confirmed by the hip-hop website in a statement across its social media accounts.

“With profound sadness, WorldStarHipHop and its employees, state that Lee O’Denat, known as ‘Q’, the founder, leader and genius behind the website and brand has passed in San Diego,” the company wrote on its Facebook page.

“Q was a brilliant businessman who championed urban culture, ultimately creating the largest hiphop website in the world. But more than that, he was a devoted father and one of the nicest, most generous persons to ever grace this planet.”

WorldStarHipHop gained a reputation for dodgy content in the 2000s, quickly becoming an institution of sorts

The hip-hop website added that it would continue operations in the wake of O’Denat’s death.

WorldStarHipHop courted and continues to court controversy, owing to the NSFW content uploaded to the website, such as street fights and rather dodgy acts.

The term “WorldStar” even became a rallying cry by onlookers during fights, eventually turning into a meme. It also gave us this wonderful video…

Featured image: WorldStarHipHop Facebook page