''Yo! MTV Raps'' is an American two-hour television

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

program, which first aired on

MTV Europe MTV Global (formerly MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV as 24-hour music video and entertainment pay television network officially launched on 1 August 1987 as part of the worldwide MTV network. Initia ...

from 1987 to mid-1990s and on MTV US from August 1988 to August 1995. The American version of the program (created by

Ted Demme Edward Kern Demme ( ; October 26, 1963 – January 13, 2002) was an American director, producer, and actor. Early life Demme was born in New York City, the son of Gail (née Kern) and Frederick Rogers Demme. He grew up in Rockville Centre, New Y ...

and Peter Dougherty) was the first

hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

show on the network, and was based on the original

show, which first aired one year before the American version. ''Yo! MTV Raps'' produced a mix of rap videos, interviews with rap stars, live in-studio performances (on Fridays), and comedy. The show also yielded a Brazilian version called ''Yo! MTV'' and broadcast by MTV Brasil from 1990 to 2005.

Hosts

The U.S. version was originally hosted by Fab 5 Freddy. Later, the show's main host was Doctor Dré and Demme's high school friend, Ed Lover who both hosted together on weekdays. Soon they were joined by Doctor Dre's Original Concept group member T Money. Fab 5 Freddy proceeded to host on weekends. The original line-up of the show, starring only Fab as the host, premiered on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

on August 6, 1988. On the weekday version dubbed, ''Yo! MTV Raps Today'' (which debuted on March 13, 1989), Ed Lover created his own dance called the ''Ed Lover Dance'' (which was typically featured on Wednesdays) that became somewhat popular in the 1990s. The Ed Lover Dance was performed to the track "The 900 Number" by The 45 King.

History

In 1987, French journalist and producer Sophie Bramly developed and hosted the program ''Yo!'' for the then-nascent MTV Europe, with

Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is a retired American DJ, rapper, and record producer. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of ...

as the first guest. Later

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

Ice-T Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958), known professionally as Ice-T (or Ice T), is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop music, hip hop and heavy metal music, heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground r ...

De La Soul De La Soul ( ) is an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York (state), New York in 1988. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evoluti ...

, Eric B. & Rakim,

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an initialism for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. E Double) and Parrish Smith ("PMD" a.k.a. Parrish Mi ...

Ultramagnetic MCs The Ultramagnetic MCs is an American hip hop group based in the Bronx, New York City. Founded by Kool Keith, the group also includes Ced Gee, TR Love, and Moe Love. Tim Dog became an unofficial member in 1989. In 1990, DJ Jaycee was added as ...

were invited. The year after that,

Run-DMC Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the mos ...

hosted the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

in the US, with

DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were an American hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of the rapper and actor Will Smith (the Fresh Prince) and the turntablist Jeff Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff). Active from 1986 to 1994 an ...

as the program's first guests and Eric B. & Rakim's video for the title track of the album '' Follow the Leader'' as the first video shown on the program. The pilot was one of the highest rated programs to ever air on MTV at that point, with only the Video Music Awards and

Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...

receiving greater ratings. Shinehead's "Chain Gang" was the first video to be shown during a regular-season episode. Meanwhile,

's " High Rollers" was the first video to be played during the weekday show. The classic ''Yo! MTV Raps'' logo was created by early graffiti writer, Dr. Revolt. The animated show open was produced by Nigel Cox-Hagen and animated by Beau Tardy.

''Yo! MTV Raps'' and the spread of hip-hop

The advent of ''Yo! MTV Raps'' in the late 1980s was crucial to spreading hip-hop around the world. Through

MTV Asia MTV was a pan-Asian music pay television channel that was launched on 5 May 1995 as a standalone pay television service. The channel was owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA. History Pre-launch The first incarnation of MTV Asia was launched on ...

, and MTV Latino, African-American and Latino style and sound became instantly available to millions of people across the globe, helping to create a worldwide appreciation and interest in the hip-hop scene, which is something that was celebrated on the ''Yo! MTV Raps'' 20th anniversary.

Rivalry

Although '' Video Music Box'' is often considered the first contender, in 1989, former rival BET created competition by premiering ''

Rap City ''Rap City'', also known as ''Rap City: Tha Basement'' from 1999 to 2005, is a music video television program block that originally aired on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) network from August 11, 1989, to November 8, 2008. The program ...

''. The show was the longest-running hip-hop program because of its 19-year run (ending in 2009). While ''Yo! MTV Raps, which is now discontinued, generally focused on the rap scene from the East Coast and largely popular West Coast artists, ''Rap City'' also included videos from up-and-coming underground rappers from different regions of the US.

"Down With MTV"

One of the most popular artists to be featured on ''Yo! MTV Raps'' was Naughty by Nature. When MTV started its ''Down With MTV'' advertising campaign in 1992, Naughty by Nature's smash hit " O.P.P." was used as the basis.

Censorship and declining popularity

The ratings fell after pulling

's video "By the Time I Get to Arizona" in 1991, claiming it was too violent. Also, ''Yo! MTV Raps'' almost declined to air the video for

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...

's "

How I Could Just Kill a Man "How I Could Just Kill a Man" is the debut single by Hip hop music, hip hop group Cypress Hill from their eponymous debut album, ''Cypress Hill (album), Cypress Hill'', and was their first major hit in 1991. It was released as a double A-side to " ...

." Only after Sheri Howell, Vice President of Music and Artist Development at MTV, intervened that MTV changed their minds. By around 1992–93, MTV aired ''Yo! MTV Raps'' only once a week, for two hours, on Fridays after midnight.

The end of ''Yo!''

''Yo! MTV Raps'' had its series finale on August 17, 1995. Numerous high-profile names in the world of hip-hop closed the show out with a

freestyle rap Freestyle rap, also simply known as Freestyle, is a style of hip hop music where an artist normally improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure ...

session, including

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim (), is an American rapper. He is one half of Golden age hip-hop, golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, with whom he released four albums: ''Paid in Full ...

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...

, Redman,

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...

, Special Ed, Erick Sermon,

Chubb Rock Richard Anthony Simpson (born May 28, 1968), also known as Chubb Rock, is a Jamaican-American rapper who released several successful hip hop albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A National Merit Scholar, Chubb Rock dropped out of Brown Un ...

Craig Mack Craig Jamieson Mack (May 10, 1970 – March 12, 2018) was an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his tenure with Bad Boy Records, during which he released his 1994 single " Flava in Ya Ear" (1994), which peaked within the ' ...

, MC Serch of

3rd Bass 3rd Bass is an American hip hop group that was most active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Formed by MC Serch, Pete Nice, and DJ Richie Rich, the group was notable for being one of the first successful interracial hip hop acts. Along with ...

, and

Large Professor William Paul Mitchell (born March 21, 1972), better known by the stage name of Large Professor (also Extra P. and Large Pro), is an American rapper and music producer. Based in New York City, he is known as a founding member of the underground ...

Salt-N-Pepa Salt-N-Pepa (sometimes stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa) is an American hip-hop, hip hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (rapper), Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (rapper), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). ...

holds the distinction of appearing on the first (technically, the first episode to feature Fab 5 Freddy) and last episodes of ''Yo! MTV Raps''. From 1996 to 1999, MTV repackaged it as simply ''Yo!'', which was far more stripped-down and had a weekly slate of special guest hosts. For instance,

Angie Martinez Angela "Angie" Martinez (born January 9, 1971) is an American radio personality, podcaster, singer, former rapper and actress. Dubbed "The Voice of New York", Martinez is widely known for her 28-year run at New York City station WQHT, Hot 97 ( ...

and Fatman Scoop served as its hosts. By 1998, ''Yo!'' had no guest hosts and became a one-hour program airing late Friday nights at 1 a.m. or 1:30 a.m. (

Eastern Standard Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behind ...

). In 2000, MTV's outlet for hip-hop videos became ''

Direct Effect In the law of the European Union, direct effect is the principle that Union law may, if appropriately framed, confer rights on individuals which not only the courts but also the public administration (on national, regional or local level) of m ...

'', known since 2006 as '' Sucker Free''. It aired three times a week at around 7:00 PM (

). It is one of the few music video outlets for MTV besides its late-night/early-morning music video rotation hours, as MTV continues to focus on non-music video programming, especially

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

shows.

Revivals

''Yo! MTV Raps'' made a comeback of sorts, after an eight-year hiatus during the '' Jackassworld.com: 24 Hour Takeover'' in February 2008. It had Steve-O (alongside Sam Maccarone) promoting his new rap album, doing freestyles, and showing his new music video. The old set was carefully recreated, with

Johnny Knoxville Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ''Jackass (franchise), ...

joking that

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present). He ...

created a brand new ''

Beavis and Butt-Head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...

'' episode with them critiquing Steve-O's rap video.

20th Anniversary

In April 2008, ''Yo! MTV Raps'' celebrated its 20th anniversary by making a comeback on MTV. MTV's show '' Sucker Free'' transformed into ''Yo! MTV Raps'' and featured classic hip-hop music videos as well as current hip-hop videos. Fab 5 Freddy, Doctor Dré and Ed Lover contributed to the tribute of the show. At the end of April 2008, MTV aired ''Yo!'' countdown shows and featured the top moments from the show during its airing on MTV.

30th Anniversary

''Yo! MTV Raps'' was revived for a new generation in 2018, celebrating the 30th anniversary at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on June 1, 2018. The live show featured Big Daddy Kane and the Juice Crew, Eric B & Rakim, Doug E. Fresh, KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions, EPMD, Flavor Flav, and many more. It also featured past hosts and DJs who helped shepherd the series, like Fab 5 Freddy, Ed Lover, Doctor Dré, T Money, Skribble, Red Alert, and Chuck Chillout. Tribute videos from artists like Eminem, Method Man, and Redman also commemorated the occasion.

''Yo! MTV Raps'' International

In Spring 2019, Viacom International Media Networks relaunched the series with local versions in the UK, Germany, South-East Asia, and pan-African versions on MTV Base and MTV Africa. The Format and editorial of the series were headed by British TV producer Darcy Thomas. This also followed with a bi-weekly spin-off show ''Yo! MTV Rates'' hosted by Snoochie Shy and Poet, which aired in the UK and was also produced by Darcy Thomas for two seasons (16 episodes).

MTV Classic

Following the launch of MTV Classic on August 1, 2016,

blocks have consistently aired on the network under the name ''Yo! Hip Hop Mix''. When broadcast, however, this is merely an automated playlist of rap/hip-hop videos from the 1980s to the early 2000s.

Pluto TV

A ''Yo! MTV Raps'' channel was added to

Pluto TV Pluto TV is an American free ad-supported streaming television service owned and operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global. Founded by Tom Ryan (business executive), Tom Ryan, Ilya Pozin and Nick Grouf in 2013 and based in ...

following Viacom's purchase of the service.

Paramount+

On February 24, 2021, it was announced that ''Yo! MTV Raps'' would be revived on

ViacomCBS Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...

' streaming platform

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

, formerly CBS All Access. On February 17, 2022, it was announced that Conceited and DJ Diamond Kuts would host the revival. On May 2, 2022, it was announced that the revival would premiere on May 24, 2022.

References in popular culture

*In the ABC sitcom-drama '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'' from around the same time, Doogie is frequently seen wearing a ''Yo! MTV Raps'' white T-shirt, among other colors. *A '' Magic: The Gathering'' podcast is named "Yo! MTG Taps", a reference to the "tapping" mechanic used in the game. *There was a set of ''Yo! MTV Raps'' trading cards which featured the various hosts of the show and many of the artists whose videos were featured on the show. *In the

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

song "

It Was a Good Day "It Was a Good Day" is a song by American rapper Ice Cube, released on February 23, 1993, by Lench Mob Records, Lench Mob and Priority Records, Priority as the second single from his third solo album, ''The Predator (album), The Predator'' (1992 ...

", the show is referenced in the lyrics "Went to Short Dog's house, they was watchin' ''Yo! MTV Raps''". *In the

Juelz Santana LaRon Louis James Sr. (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of now-defunct hip-hop group, the Diplomats (also known as Dipset). He is best known for his appearances on group coho ...

song “Good Times”, the show is referenced in the lyrics "'Memba them ol' "''Yo! MTV Raps''" man, I hope they bring ''Yo! MTV'' back".

References

External links

Yo! MTV Raps 20th Anniversary
on MTV.com
Jump The Shark - "Yo! MTV Raps"
*
VH1 Goes Inside "Yo! MTV Raps"

Hip-Hop's Greatest TV Moments - Yo! MTV Raps
*
Yo! MTV Raps England Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yo! MTV Raps 1980s American music television series 1988 American television series debuts 1990s American music television series 1995 American television series endings 2020s American music television series 2022 American television series debuts 2022 American television series endings American television series revived after cancellation Hip-hop television MTV original programming MTV weekday shows Paramount+ original programming