>he smells bait....and don't think for
>a minute that i wouldn't
>ask him to be an
>okayartist. personally i was looking
>for someone that wouldn't meet
>approval to the vast majority.
>but at the end of
>the day, he is a
>more than capable craftsman. and
>i think the controversy is
>good. (before you cry sellout,
>i said nothing of charging
>folks to come here)

okay okay, first off, i do like Jay-z. he has been pretty consistent, and will probably be the rapper of my time, but i don't see him fitting in as an okayartist. Isn't the whole "mission statement" of okp "a group of like minded artists...?" let's go down the list of okayartists:
the roots
common
d'angelo
talib and hi-tek
the jazzies
dilated peoples

all of the artist's here i guess can be considered "avant garde", black power, and some, not all as you have corrected us before, "concious mcs." adding jay just doesn't work out. Adding a dude with a whole different style of rhyming, living, and working, doesn't seem like it goes along w/ what okp stands for. on one hand you have struggling, no offense, artists like the jazzies trying to get some support from their label, some air play, and some acceptence from the general public, and then you have Jay walking in here stepping out of his $200000+ bentley, which just picked him up from his hilicopter's landing pad, which just picked him up at the airport's tarmac where his private jet touched down. As much as i respect jay, and love listening to his music, i don't think he fits in here. kinda like a rich kid, whose parents just went bankrupt, going to a poor school.

peace
m!ke

(((aim: okayplayerDROots)))
(((okayoungin' reppin)))

- Does it have to stay underground to stay true?
"What does underground mean? Punk rock and hip hop are not underground. That whole mainstream vs. underground thing is a load of crap. People who whine about a thing becoming successful are just jealous. It all depends on quality and intent. If something retains its integrity and quality, people shouldn't mind if it becomes popular. Exploiting a style just because it is popular sucks, and any artist, graffiti or otherwise, shouldn't participate in a project unless it's proponents desire to understand and perpetuate the culture and perspective from which the artist comes. I have this unrealistic notion that exposure for graffiti is positive through any channel that gives positive representation, which may or may not be fashion. I think expanding acceptance of graffiti expands freedom of speech and genuinely helps democratize things for the individual in this spectator democracy. Graffiti is very liberating and that shouldn't be reserved for the cool underground. That's a selfish mentality." -Shepard Fairey CEO of blkmrkt design and creator of the OBEY sticker campaign