Now I know this will bring a tear to the left cornas of all of y’allz left eyes, but after 21,000 years, BET has decided to cancel Rap City
According to BET.com’s Sound Off blog, Rap City and its two decades of Hip Hop history will be hanging its close sign up. Serving as a platform for well-established rappers and newcomers alike, Rap City made its debut in 1989 with host Chris Thomas (known as “The Mayor”), quickly becoming a must-watch for Hip Hop heads. By 1999, the show changed its name to Rap City: Tha Basement, and with new host Big Tigger, further supplanted itself as a major music source that lasted well into the next decade, with various hosts latching on to bring it new flavor.
However, recent times haven’t looked so great for the BET mainstay. After losing financial sponsorship this year [gee I wonder how THAT happened?] and with ratings slowly decreasing, Rap City became a question mark that wasn’t leading to any significant answers. In turn, BET has decided to replace the show in an effort to bring ratings back to a comfortable position. HIphopDX
In response to this most recent development. I have penned the following letter to Viacom, BET’s corporate overseer.
Um Dear Viacom,
The only comfortable “position” for BET is to spin it off and sell it. That network’s current leadership is comprised of a bunch of holdovers from the rocking 1980’s. Here’s a clue, it’s 2008. There are TONS, TONS, of funny, creative Black folks out there that are not the close personal friends and classmates of BET executive. Why don’t you go in search of some of these people. We’ve seen the production quality of BET programming. High School students could produce something of superior quality.
BET plans to replace Rap city with a hip hop version of “Pop Up Video.” Y’all didn’t expect them to come up with a totally NEW programming concept over that the perpetually creatively challenged corporate step child of Viacom.
The Deal will feature a similar scheme to Vh1’s Pop Up Video, which aired from 1996 to 2002. As BET puts it, The Deal will play “the latest and great videos that include pop-up information, facts and quirky tidbits on the artist and/or the song itself,” a description closely resembling Pop Up Video’s “info nuggets.”
NO seriously, Black people invented Jazz. We’re creative, so why are they resurrecting a show from1996? I can’t wait for the day when Kathy Hughes makes an offer for BET and Viacom hands over the keys. Better yet, I can’t wait for the day when a Black blogger makes Viacom an offer. BWHAHAHA I think Bobby J will have to go on up to glory before that happens since his money-stained paw prints are still tightly clamped around the anchor of this swiftly sinking ship.
3 comments ↓
I used to watch Pop Up Video and there is no way that anyone who works at BET has the sense of humor and talent needed to pull this off. Pop Up Video was a smart, quirky show not a bunch of buffonery like Comic View.
@ Naima- I agree!
And this concept completely lacks creativity. I mean, it’s already been done and the title has nothing to do with the show– I don’t think “pop-up video” when I see “The Deal” is about to come on. I think drug bust.
BET is scrambling now. They are fastly sinking and losing their “fan” base, and they know that the ship is bout to hit bottom.
Corny. And trite. Nothing less of what I’d expect from BET. They’re not risk takers cuz it costs me to be one.