On VH1 - Friday Feb 4th , 6pm EST


PRINCE will b one of the topics on Vh1's new show about black influences in music. This is a tv special in celebration and in honor of Black History Month.


Here is the info from the VH1 website. www.vh1.com


BLACK IN THE 80s - Part 2 (Parts 1 and 3 don't mention Prince)


Def Jams - Black music experienced nothing less than a renaissance in the 1980's. From the unmitigated success of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" to the rise of a new generation of Black pop stars like Whitney, Tina, Lionel, and Janet, to the ascendancy of rap and hip hop culture; the 1980's was a decade where black musicians reinvented themselves, took advantage of MTV's new avenues of exposure and made inroads into mainstream white culture like never before. This hour explores the evolution of black music in the 1980's by examining the biggest developments of the decade, and asks in the end what was sold, who was buying, and where does that leave it all today.

Topics covered in the show: .....

Rap music (being underground, trying to become mainstream and delivering a message)
Black Pop music
Hip Hop (going mainstream, changing culture and influencing fashion)
Breakdancing (being featured in Hollywood films, television and commercials)
Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight"
PRINCE
Michael Jackson
Lionel Richie
Whitney Houston
Chaka Khan
Gladys Knight
Diana Ross
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and "The Message"
Russell Simmons
Run DMC (and "My Adidas")
LL Cool J
Beastie Boys
Ed Lover and Dr. Dre
Tracy Chapman
Living Colour (and "Cult of Personality")
Beat Street
Breakin'
Yo! MTV Raps

they had a really good 10 minute spot on how he was the first artist to fuse different genre's of music into one, and his own unique sound and how no one has ever been able to repeat that.

Plus he looked AMAZING

I love 80's music, but I've never met a another black person who believes that this decade was great for black music.

pretend this is deleted
[Edited 2/4/05 11:32am]

I saw it the other night. They discuss Prince during the first few minutes of Part II of the 3 part special.They talk about him breaking the color barrier on MTV, which I didn't know. I thought it was Michael Jackson. They also showed a clip of David Bowie questioning one of the VJ's about not showing videos by black artist. The VJ basically said they did not want to scare the white audience with a stream of Black videos. You should see the look of disgust on David's face.

doctamario said:

just talk to anyone on this site

doctamario said:

I always do. it was the last time you could hear KRS-One and then hall and oates on the same radio station.

PurpleCharm said:

You go, David!

How little did they know at MTV at that time. And how much times have changed. Today MTV doesn't want to scare off their white audience with a stream of White video's, hehehe!

This is what really trips me out.....

If a show is called "Black In The 80s", then how the hell do you leave out the "blackest" artists of the decade that practically never crossed over, like Rick James, Roger & Zapp, The Barkays, Lakeside, Shalamar, The Dazz Band, The Gap Band, etc. These were major artists on black radio back in the 1980s.

This show sounds more like "Crossover in the 80s" to me.

doctamario said:

-----
Maybe you don't know any smart black people.

vainandy said:

-----
Well keep in mind the MTV would not play any of these groups back in the day and VHI is owned by Viacom. I noticed they did not mention that CBS had to treaten to pull all their videos off of MTV before they would play Billie Jean.

MTV is getting off easy because they produced this program.
[Edited 2/4/05 12:57pm]

Exactly. If you think about it, MTV hasn't changed at all. The only reason they play all these rap videos is because white kids are into them. If white kids ever lose interest in rap, so will MTV.

vainandy said:

After seeing the show, they did a really nice piece on "The Kid". Lots of well deserved praise and respect about his contribution to the music world. (I always love seeing clip of Prince in the bathtub and crawling on the floor too.)

I did notice also they showed much love for Chaka Kahn and her revoltionary mix of sampling and rap married to a pop groove. The only thing they forgot to mention was that "I feel for U" was also a cover of a Prince song.

Soulchild82 said:

Amen, and to ride on what doctamario said, I am one who does believe that the 80s were great for black music. It was a time for music which society was not generally exposed to to be heard and more than a couple of artists to be seen.

vainandy said:

Agreed.

PurpleCharm said:

Yeah, I noticed that too. David looked pissed, and understandably so.

I liked how they talked about Prince (although it was short and went too fast). I also liked how they talked about the revolution of rap music, how it was considered to be "underground" during the early 80's. I especially loved the segment they did on break dancing, which I absolutely love!!!!!

vainandy said:

I agree with this statement.

man, u no what ?, i was just about to post this topic, but then when i saw that someone else had..i was blown like iono what..i was like man "they beat me to it"!"..but anyway,I saw the show on Weds night, and i loved the show-it was cool and the segment about Prince!!! i was so excited when they talked about him!

* i saw all of the shows (Black in film, Def jams, and Color T.V)..and my friend knows im into Prince (and 80s stuff) so she knew i was gonna watch it. The Def jams thing was the best one--2 me!

OceanOfViolets said:

In fact he won a songwriter's Grammy for Chaka's cover.

How little did they know at MTV at that time. And how much times have changed. Today MTV doesn't want to scare off their white audience with a stream of White video's, hehehe![/quote]

MTV barely even plays videos anymore all they play is their 'reality' shows, i think they should conseder being called "reality TV with some music now and then"

OceanOfViolets said:

CO-SIGN on the "I feel for you" cuz I was just waitin' on them to mention that it was a P song.

PurpleCharm said:

IT WAS!

1999 was the fist P video they showed

WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
[Edited 2/4/05 22:45pm]

lilgish said:

I wonder why they said it was Prince.

PurpleCharm said:

It's called getting your come upins. Being uppity.

They'll erase him from HIStory and say it was his on fault...most people will accept it; ignoring the socio-political aspects of music...as if events just happen by accident and are not part of a larger plan. In a hundred years the holy trinity will be Elvis, The Beatles and Eminem. The press is in love with P now, but a few year ago they had him ready for the ash pile. (see Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince). When a black celebrity fucks up, that’s it, their kicked out, ostracized, how dare they mistreat the privilege white society has given them; A unique privilege certainly not attainable in the black world. A black world which will be covered and on view for 28 days in February. 23 days and counting people.

Is it me or are they trying to minimize Bill Cosby too.
[Edited 2/4/05 23:57pm]

lilgish said:

Damn..you've made some excellent points I never even thout about it that way.

PurpleCharm said:

Black in the 1880's