Ralph McDaniels, creator and host of the iconic music video program “Video Music Box,”spoke at length about the history of the program as well as some special events lined up to help celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary while a guest on the weekly online radio talk show The NY Hip Hop Report.
McDaniels admitted that there was some early resistance to the idea, but his persistance led to the birth of a platform that helped launch the careers of countless rap artists. He also noted that despite the early regional success of the show, there were still some who didnt believe that mainstream TV was ready for a Hip Hop music video show.
“Yeah, we approached them [MTV] in 1986,” he said. “And they said, ‘Mainstream TV’s not ready for Hip Hop.’ I said, ‘Did you ever go to the Fresh Fest? You play Run-DMC! All kids are wearing Run-DMC gear and listening to the music.'” While MTV would go on launch “YO! MTV Raps” the next year, McDaniels held no ill will towards the company, seeing the show as an opportunity for Hip Hop to reach a broader audience.
“People were like, ‘Yo, what do you think? Is that your competition?’ I said, ‘No, now the music can go further.’ If I or The Vid Kid did a video, it automatically got played across the country. That made our work get seen by people in other areas we didn’t reach.”
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McDaniels mentioned several events planned to help celebrate the anniversary of “Video Music Box,” most notably that the 2013 Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival will be dedicated to the legacy of the show’s 30-year history.
The full article and entire radio show can be found here. The New York Hip Hop Report is hosted by Birthplace Magazine editor-in-chief Manny Faces and co-host Steve Ortiz.
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