“Raw Fusion” aired the last show of its season on Chicago public access cable television Jul. 6, ending its two years of urban underground community broadcasting in a variety format.
The show is know for its timely R&B and rap music videos, urban entertainment industry interviews, and a lively soap opera titled “Temptations” that revolves around the music recording industry and a talk show in the mode of “Jerry Springer.” Kevin Brown, aka King B., says he’s ready to move away from public access to commercial television. “Raw Fusion” successfully aired a special of Janet Jackson music videos on Chicagoland commercial television.
“There’s a certain stigma attacked to public access television [which, in Chicago, like other U.S. cities, is usually owned and operated by a municipal corporation financed through franchise fees charged to cable television service providers and municipal taxes on cable service],” Brown says. “Whenever people think of public access, they associate it with being cheesy or substandard, and we’re trying to get the show away from that label and take it to the next level.”
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Brown—who is an actor by profession and has a production studio in Chicagoland’s northwest suburbs—still plans to host the show and play the leading male “Temptations” role of Suge Knight-type record label owner Manoshua Johnson once “Raw Fusion” is up and running again on a commercial outlet. “Temptations” boasts a multicultural cast of 48.
