Team
The Okayplayer team is dedicated to bringing you the latest in entertainment news 24/7/365! These are the people that make it all happen!
CEO & Founder
Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson
Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born on January 20, 1971) known professionally as ?uestlove or Questlove (also known as BROther ?uestion, Questo, Brother Question or Qlove), is an American drummer, DJ, music journalist and record producer. He is best known as the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thought) for the Grammy Award-winning band The Roots, which is now the in-house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
okayplayer Staff
President
Dan “Dantana” Petruzzi
Dantana started working with Okayplayer in March of 2000 after answering a classified ad in the Philadelphia City Paper. In the liner notes for The Root’s 2002 release Phrenology, Dan is thanked for saving the company from “becoming a hip-hop Hindenburg.” Only a handful of people actually know what that means. He got the nickname “Dantana” from friend Aahmek Richards who was at Def Jam during the Dipset years and would often great him with “Dan Tana, Ay!”
Vice-President
Ginny “Gingerlynn” Suss
Ginny Suss learned everything she needed to know about rhythm and melody from Michael Jackson (R.I.P.). She often spins her Bad picture disc, cranking up “Man In The Mirror,” her cat’s favorite song. Her favorite possessions are her Wu-Tang earrings, her Fela vinyl, her Punky Brewster DVD collection, and her Jeffrey Campbell ankle boots. She once won a bet with ?uestlove by holding 50 popsicle sticks in her mouth for 5 minutes. It wasn’t fun. Fashion icons include Bea Arthur, Grace Jones, and Wendy & Lisa.
Chief Visionary Officer
Vanessa “Without Borders” Wruble
Vanessa Wruble knows surprisingly little about hip-hop. For example, she thought “YOLO” was Lil Wayne’s motto, not Drake’s. Having only recently learned how to use the term “pause” appropriately, she now uses it indiscriminately. Regardless, she’s been welcomed into the Okayplayer family because she’s good at organizing group outings, scoring psychedelics, and being entirely inappropriate in almost every conceivable way. She also knows more about Fela Kuti than 99% of humanity, and has written a couple of commonsensical books on Africa.
Brand Manager
Bill “Brainchild” Johnson
Brainchild first logged on to Okayplayer shortly after its launch in 1999 and accidentally made it his default homepage. He never figured out how to change it back and just went with it. Contrary to popular belief, he is not related to Speech from Arrested Development, Rich Medina, Wyatt Cenac, or Arthur the aardvark.
Editor-In-Chief
Eddie “Stats” Houghton
Eddie STATS hipped the hipster who hipped you to Alice Smith, M.I.A., Gyptian, The Very Best, Tiombe Lockhart, Akon, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, BLK JKS, Drake, Vybz Kartel, THEESatisfaction, Jovi Rockwell, Ka, Gary Clark, Jr., De Tropix and Sizzla. He is a Detroit nationalist and a good-ass writer.
Content & Media Manager
Femi “Shamz” Obasaju
A man of leisure, a champion in the fields of academia, a pursuer of truth, a scholar and a gentleman… but mainly a whiskey loving, hedonistic, ink addict who writes for your favorite blog.
Head of Video Production
Allison Swank
Allison Swank is the accidental socialite. She’s everywhere and nowhere at once. With a camera crew in tow, she’s been rejected by Danny Brown, enlightened by Mos Def, and smoked out by Rakim. All Swank…no soda.
