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Surge Desk

WorldStarHipHop: 5 Facts About the Site 50 Cent Takes Credit for Shutting Down [VIDEOS]

Jan 24, 2011 – 5:48 PM
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Mary Phillips-Sandy Contributor

WorldStarHipHop.com, which billed itself as "the CNN of urban media," is offline as of today, with no official explanation for its disappearance.

On Twitter, meanwhile, a famous rap star stepped forward to take credit for the site's demise. Reveling in his apparent influence, 50 Cent tweeted the following message to his followers:

I don't know why people underestimate me. I just shut down WORLDSTAR for future advertising contact thisis50.com suckers lolless than a minute ago via ÜberTwitter


In subsequent tweets 50 said he "didn't think WorldStar was a good representation of black people," and predicted that "2 more web sites will shut down this week." Then he tweeted a phone number allegedly belonging to WSHH's founder, a man who goes by Q, and invited his fans to "send Q from WorldStar your condolences."

Is Fiddy for real? Surge Desk can't say, but we can give you five facts about WorldStarHipHop, the popular website he may or may not have wiped off the face of the Internet.

1. It has history with 50 Cent
In 2009 50 sued WorldStarHipHop for using his photo on its home page, saying he had not given the site permission to do so and claiming that the photo misled some fans into believing that he ran the site. Yet 50 and WSHH's Q had started out as friends, at one point even touring together.

2. Its content may not have appealed to everyone
According to urban lifestyle blog BallerStatus, WSHH offered "everything from backyard hood brawls, back-n-forth diss videos from numerous rappers, hoodrat webcam strip teases, and even music videos."

3. But it was pretty popular
WorldStarHipHop had an Alexa traffic ranking of 897 at the time of its shutdown, and the WSHH Facebook page has more than 10,000 fans. 50 Cent has taken shots at WSHH's traffic stats in the past, claiming in this 2009 video that "WorldStarHipHop is fake."


4. Its founder, Q, was once homeless
WSHH founder Q -- no other name known -- said in a 2010 interview that he grew up in Queens and was briefly homeless after an eviction in 2000. The next year he started a website that evolved into WSHH in 2005.

5. Bill O'Reilly has attacked the site, too
When a young boy recorded a video threat against then-president George W. Bush, the clip was featured on WorldStarHipHop. O'Reilly expressed his outrage on "The O'Reilly Factor."


More coverage from Surge Desk:
40 Glocc, Rapper Who Dissed Lil Wayne, Arrested on Gun Charges
Lil Wayne Returns to Rap Game With First Post-Prison Track


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