BET was just a place where we would get support from our community.” They started to see and get familiar with me, and they wanted to look out for me. It was a way for me to be around people at BET. It was what they call an impression in the advertising world. … They would show me in the audience throughout the whole show. knew who I was, because he would go to the South and host things. ![]() “We strived to be on ‘Rap City.’ We strived to be on ‘106 & Park,’” Lil Jon said. The exposure helped him become more recognizable, particularly to the BET brass - who he says initially struggled to grasp the concept of his crunk music, which eventually gained mainstream appeal. Calloway would notice him sitting in the crowd before he shouted out his name. Lil Jon had no clue “106 & Park” co-host A.J. A year later, the network started the BET Awards then the BET Hip-Hop Awards.įor Lil Jon, he certainly benefitted from appearing on “106 & Park.” One day, the rapper-producer joined the show’s audience during the time when he had a hard time getting music on BET. The show thrived with a video countdown, interviews and performances. He remained CEO until 2006.Īfter the sale, BET continued to beef up its content with reality shows and the network’s flagship program “106 & Park,” a weekday show that started in 2000 and lasted for more than a decade. “You went from BET having shows with no hip-hop artists or music to artists and music starting to trickle through shows to this full evolution of creating dedicated shows, celebrating hip-hop music, artists and culture.”īET’s decision to embrace hip-hop literally paid off: Johnson and his then-wife, Sheila, sold the network to Viacom in 2000 for $3 billion - which made them the nation’s first Black billionaires. “They rapidly embraced hip-hop as part of the mission of BET,” he said. “After kind of a brief initial hesitancy, the founders of BET really understood how hip-hop was transforming culture overall and specifically Black entertainment,” said Scott M. Rival MTV’s “Yo! MTV Raps,” however, showed that hip-hop had staying power. But at the time, he and other founders were unsure about featuring a rap show, believing the genre would be short lived. Johnson built the brand into the leading TV network for Black Americans in hopes of creating content geared toward jazz, comedy and gospel. ![]() The show, which highlighted popular and up-and-coming rappers, became the longest-running hip-hop TV show in history.Į-40 credited BET founder Robert Johnson for giving hip-hop a chance. ![]() We needed that,” said E-40, who also made a few appearances on another BET show called “Rap City,” which featured hip-hop music videos, interviews and freestyles booth sessions with big names including Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and MC Lyte. He felt his group gained important exposure to promote their “unorthodox” West Coast rap style. The rapper recalled how guest host Jamie Foxx dissed The Click’s song but the comedian’s critical words didn’t faze him. His song “Tired of Being Stepped On” with the rap group The Click appeared on BET’s “Video Soul,” which was created in 1981 at a time when MTV refused to play videos by most African Americans. Due to the presence of topless and nearly naked women in many of videos played on Uncut, the show also sparked much discussion about the objectification of women and the promoting of negative stereotypes of Black women in rap music videos.Īmong the most popular BET Uncut staples were videos like 50 Cent’s “ Many Men”, Mystikal & Pharrel’s “Shake Ya Ass,” and of course, Nelly’s “Tip Drill.” However, given how accepting mainstream media and pop culture has become of nudity when purposed for “arts and/or entertainment,” even the most jaw-dropping of Uncut-worthy videos from 10 years ago will likely not even compare to what will be seen once the second run of the program is underway.īET Uncut will officially return on Tuesday Augat 11:00 p.m.“BET was a big platform for hip-hop and urban music overall,” said E-40. Those of us who are familiar with the history of the program during its’ original 5-year run from 2001 to 2006 will remember that it was a platform for the most cutting edge lyrical content and NSFW visuals in hip hop to thrive nearly uncensored and without apology.
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