“Launched in 1999, Okayplayer is the original progressive music site and maintains its position as the premier digital destination for music and culture connoisseurs worldwide.

Okayplayer delivers a full spectrum of groundbreaking coverage that serves as a gateway to multi-faceted cultures and communities. Well established as the gold standard in music media, Okayplayer utilizes its influential voice to define and create the cutting edge content that chronicles sound, culture, film, arts, politics, and more.

Okayplayer was first created and launched by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Angela “Stress” Nissel in 1998 out of their respective bedrooms in West Philadelphia. The website’s official anniversary is February 23, 1999, the same day The Roots released their fourth studio album Things Fall Apart.”

When The Music Stops: The Unfortunate Reality Of Mourning Artists During A Pandemic

“…the executive director of Today’s Future Sound (TFS), a non-profit organization using in-person workshops as a form of mental health and educational intervention, Dr. Gann has explored how beat-making can be used therapeutically to deal with the stresses of the world. When TFS had to revert to virtual workshops since the pandemic intensified in mid-March, the importance the TFS community had on people’s ability to grieve during the pandemic became dire. Members like Aaron Harrison thanked Dr. Gann for saving his life by including him in those workshops. While the pandemic took away traditional means of communal grieving, in typical human fashion, people found digital alternatives rooted in a human community.”