![]() ![]() “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. “BET was a big platform for hip-hop and urban music overall,” said E-40. The new owner will acquire an important cultural fixture, one whose success was partially built on how it elevated hip-hop. Several Black entrepreneurs and celebrities, including Tyler Perry, media executive Byron Allen and rapper-entrepreneur Diddy, are interested in purchasing the network. Show officials plan to celebrate the genre’s 50th anniversary during the telecast dubbed as a “non-stop Hip-Hop Party.” It also comes at a pivotal time for the network, which will be soon be sold.
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