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Reply #30 posted 02/28/03 6:06pm

Wolf

classic77 said:

Is it just me or did Donnie Simpson remind you of that guy from Kool & The Gang?


i think they are brothers.
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Reply #31 posted 02/28/03 7:28pm

rdhull

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'At what point did BET start to suck?'

when they got rid of Donnie Simpson/Video Soul and that era
"Climb in my fur."
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Reply #32 posted 02/28/03 8:17pm

lovebizzare

Harlepolis said:

BTW whateva happend 2 Gold Video Soul?

they got rid of it...along with donnie simpson...the bastards mad
~KiKi
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Reply #33 posted 03/02/03 2:32am

Rhondab

Harlepolis said:

Is it true that Donnie Simpson is now a radio personality in DC?? Anyway, whateva that show is I don't get it here in NYC sad I miss the brutha,,,he was funny and sweet. U could tell that artists who come to his show enjoy him.

As far as BEt goes?? I ain't got no complains whats so eva cuz I don't watch tv anymo'



he's on the radio. We was doing radio back then as well.
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Reply #34 posted 03/03/03 4:03pm

intha916

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Wolf said:

classic77 said:

Is it just me or did Donnie Simpson remind you of that guy from Kool & The Gang?


i think they are brothers.


LOL naw they aren't brothers but that used to be a running gag on VS. Donnie used to acknowledge they looked a lot alike.
Bringing Together Five Decades of R&B/Funk/Soul/Dance
http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/
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Reply #35 posted 03/03/03 6:38pm

mistermaxxx

intha916 said:

Wolf said:

classic77 said:

Is it just me or did Donnie Simpson remind you of that guy from Kool & The Gang?


i think they are brothers.


LOL naw they aren't brothers but that used to be a running gag on VS. Donnie used to acknowledge they looked a lot alike.
Nope Him&JT Taylor aren't Brothers but the Green Eyes always got that response.without Donnie the Game changed.Donnie said that when BET went more Rap/Hip-Hop he knew His time was done there.but I think BET started to Stink arguably in the Late 80's because all it was was Cross-Over Acts which While I enjoyed those Same Acts it also lead to the Channel becoming more Watered Down IMHO.they didn't Champion from within enough&Just went with the Flow as to Pushing harder for there Core Acts that didn't Cross-Over.
mistermaxxx
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Reply #36 posted 03/03/03 7:29pm

Christopher

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106&park is the lamest tv show ever with most annyong looking,sounding hosts in the world...who else wants to sock those two fools free and aj?

anyways i used to watch Rap city on BET but i havent watched that channel in a long time smile
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Reply #37 posted 03/03/03 8:28pm

JANFAN4L

BET used to rock when they had Video Vibrations (I still remember when BET used to show House/Dance videos like M People, Robin S, Corrina, those were the days), the original Video Soul with Donnie Simpson and Sheryl, the old Rap City (before it was the Bassment) with Old School Wednesdays with Big Les and Da Mayor, the Desmonds, the old Midnight Love, Screen Scene, What's Happening reruns (used to wake up every morning before school to watch), but it started going downhill when they replaced the classic video programs with sub-par ones like Videolink, Hits From The Street, Cita's World, BET UnCut, etc.

I used to watch BET all the time because they used to show the videos that MTV wouldn't dare show (especially the R&B, retro and soul gems). Planet Groove was okay, THEY HAD AMAZING LIVE PERFORMANCES. "ALL" was good too, they showed the BEST live TV performances I have ever seen (Kelis' "Get Along With You" Live and Shanice's "Fly Like An Angel") those were the most incredible live TV performances I ever seen. Artists don't even perform live anymore with live instruments. It's just a bunch of dudes on stage yelling with a DAT tape.

It seemed like for a time BET was trying to get its act together with the show "Out The Box" back in 2000. I was really feeling that show and then they just cut it off. That was wack. But whatever, that's corporate business for ya -- supply and demand. More kids buy more things. Stuff like this will only continue unless we start supporting the artists we listen to...yeah, you can download the MP3, but please BUY THE ALBUM. Your dollars speak louder than posts.
[This message was edited Mon Mar 3 20:30:11 PST 2003 by JANFAN4L]
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Reply #38 posted 03/04/03 2:12pm

diamondpearl1

i remember bein anxious 2 get home so i could watch the followin shows... video soul with donnie simpson i remember how the theme song changed every year and the end theme was a song by randy crawford and everyday he'd come out with a different suit and he was fly & smooth
i remember the sitcoms benson the 1st jamacian sitcom desmond
new attitude with morris day whats happenin baby im back out all night with vivica fox morris chestnut duane martin and patti labelle video lp with the so foine sherri carter carribean rythms with the beautiful rachel their old slogan "we're givin u a choice" rap city with chris thomas the mayor screen scene video vibes... man oh man i wanna go back 2 1988-1999 wink
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Reply #39 posted 03/04/03 2:26pm

Handclapsfinga
snapz

Christopher said:

106&park is the lamest tv show ever with most annyong looking,sounding hosts in the world...who else wants to sock those two fools free and aj?

wave i do!
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Reply #40 posted 03/04/03 2:31pm

intha916

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diamondpearl1 said:

i remember bein anxious 2 get home so i could watch the followin shows... video soul with donnie simpson i remember how the theme song changed every year and the end theme was a song by randy crawford and everyday he'd come out with a different suit and he was fly & smooth
i remember the sitcoms benson the 1st jamacian sitcom desmond
new attitude with morris day whats happenin baby im back out all night with vivica fox morris chestnut duane martin and patti labelle video lp with the so foine sherri carter carribean rythms with the beautiful rachel their old slogan "we're givin u a choice" rap city with chris thomas the mayor screen scene video vibes... man oh man i wanna go back 2 1988-1999 wink


And I wanna go with ya lol
Bringing Together Five Decades of R&B/Funk/Soul/Dance
http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/
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Reply #41 posted 03/04/03 4:28pm

JANFAN4L

Diamondpearl is right on the money...

I remember these BET shows

Screen Scene
Tell Me Something Good (game show)
Caribbean Rhythms
ALL
Planet Groove
Video Soul
Video LP
Video Vibrations
Rap City with Da Mayor
The old Teen Summit with Ananda Lewis
Storytime
Desmonds
Amen
227
What's Happening Now!
What's Happening
BET Shop
Our Voices
Out The Box with Malonda
1-900-Dial BET (a precursor to 106&Park)
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Reply #42 posted 03/04/03 5:49pm

lovebizzare

JANFAN4L said:

Diamondpearl is right on the money...

I remember these BET shows

Screen Scene
Tell Me Something Good (game show)
Caribbean Rhythms
ALL
Planet Groove
Video Soul
Video LP
Video Vibrations
Rap City with Da Mayor
The old Teen Summit with Ananda Lewis
Storytime
Desmonds
Amen
227
What's Happening Now!
What's Happening
BET Shop
Our Voices
Out The Box with Malonda
1-900-Dial BET (a precursor to 106&Park)

yeah, I remember all of those shows, I was especially pissed when they took "227" off.
~KiKi
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Reply #43 posted 03/05/03 1:41am

Christopher

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Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Christopher said:

106&park is the lamest tv show ever with most annyong looking,sounding hosts in the world...who else wants to sock those two fools free and aj?

wave i do!




yay! pull free's wig off you know that aint her hair...ill knock aj down to our size...
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Reply #44 posted 03/05/03 7:32am

UptownDeb

Where's Rachel? I would've sworn that as long as there was a BET network, she would have a job. Somebody there definitely loves her. (Was/is she married to an exec there?)
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Reply #45 posted 03/05/03 6:40pm

lovebizzare

I do like that new show "hey monie", though.
"comicview" ain't that bad either
[This message was edited Wed Mar 5 19:09:56 PST 2003 by lovebizzare]
~KiKi
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Reply #46 posted 03/06/03 9:51am

UptownDeb

Christopher said:

106&park is the lamest tv show ever with most annyong looking,sounding hosts in the world...who else wants to sock those two fools free and aj?


Free doesn't bother me, really. But that AJ... Man, he can be so annoying and immature sometimes.

btw, whenever Tiffany to says "bet.com" it always sounds like "bet.carm." What's up with that?
[This message was edited Thu Mar 6 9:52:14 PST 2003 by UptownDeb]
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Reply #47 posted 03/09/03 3:37am

CalhounSq

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real answer: when they got rid of Video Vibrations. They used to do the same artist for an hour or two, the Prince days were the best! sad

fake answer: long before the live broadcast soon after Aaliyah's death, when they couldn't find the hold button & DMX was on the phone going, "hello?? HELLO??" after his Aaliyah poem disbelief COMPLETELY wrecked a sad & sincere moment sad
heart prince I never met you, but I LOVE you & I will forever!! Thank you for being YOU - my little Princey, the best to EVER do it prince heart
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Reply #48 posted 03/09/03 6:19am

Ellie

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BLACK EMBARRASSING TELEVISION by Andre Brown

With only one national black television station, this writer wonders why BET chooses to show music videos all day. From nine o'clock in the morning until nine o'clock in the evening (Eastern Standard Time), there are shows like "Hits From the Street," "106 and Park," alongside a few other music video shows. Throughout the day there are reruns of similar video shows, all featuring half naked women, thugs, and drug dealers. The images of African Americans being projected in this programming are of artists who are obsessed with money, sex, and popularity. The characters the artists play in music videos are willing to do anything for the almighty dollar, including rob, cheat, pimp women (or themselves), steal and kill. No, this is not the Playboy channel or HBO, both of which have the freedom to show such things. This is bad entertainment disguised as good entertainment for blacks and it comes in the form of the network BET (Black Entertainment Television).
Ms. Cita, the host of "Cita's World", highlights the afternoon and primetime lineup of programming for BET. She is the epitome of "ghetto-fabulous." She too is half-dressed, very loud and obnoxious, and never has anything intelligent to say. Her vocabulary is limited and dripping with improper English. What makes this show worse is the fact that she is a cartoon and many people write to her for advice. Men also write in, asking her for dates and telling her what they could do for her. This writer often wonders what person would ask a cartoon character for advice or a date?
As nine o'clock rolls around, it is now time for "Oh Drama," and what drama it is. This cheap knockoff of ABC's "The View" consists of three women who get together and pretend to talk about things that are informative and interesting. The topics for discussion are based mainly on sex. These topics range from how to get a good man to how to keep your man, from gold diggers to transvestites. Not surprising to this writer, these women are not always fully clothed-wearing scantily clad outfits: leather, skimpy dresses, and tops showing excessive cleavage.

Next up on the evening schedule is "Comicview," a comedy show featuring mainly black comedians. The show begins with the host, coming on stage with a dozen women who are two seconds away from being naked. The host is dressed in vibrantly colored suits, complete with his diamond jewelry and permed hair that is neatly pulled back into a ponytail. He then dances around on the stage with women surrounding him, and they all continue to dance until the actual " show" starts. This scene is very reminiscent of a minstrel show-complete with-dancing and smiling while telling jokes for amusement. The show goes on to feature comedians who usually tell tasteless jokes about sexual related matters more than anything else.
After "Comicview," there is a one-hour news program (which will be touched upon later) that reportedly covers news that affects Black people. After the news programming, there are more videos followed by a repeat showing of "Comicview" and another episode of "Oh Drama." At three o'clock in the morning, the "craziest" show of all is aired. It is another music video show tastelessly entitled, "Uncut." This show airs music videos that are deemed too risqué to be shown during the earlier video shows. Now you may wonder what could possibly be worse than the sexual innuendos presented in the previous shows, but please believe-it gets worse. This show is very vile and only features women as sex objects. There are two videos that are regulars on this show that stand out the most. In the first video, there is a rapper that goes around town to different women, puts his hands down their private areas, and asks them "what it smell like?" The next video oozes with sexual content as well. This video by a couple of members of the infamous 2 Live Crew has a segment that features a woman onstage at a concert about to perform oral sex on one of the rappers.
After "Uncut" goes off, there are the hours of mindless infomercials that promote everything from Ron Popeil's newest invention (does this man ever quit?) to the newest cleaning phenomenon that is guaranteed to clean anything. This series of infomercials continues until the "quality" programming from the previous day starts once again. It may be hard to believe that this type of programming is allowed to be shown on television, but it is.

As one thinks of all the things BET represents, this writer realizes how lucky he is to have stopped watching this station for "entertainment." BET has taken on a new meaning for many African Americans: Black Embarrassing Television. Not only is this form of black entertainment embarrassing, but also it is harmful to the productivity and morale of black people. This form of media makes Blacks, especially the young, feel that they can only be successful as singers, rappers, dancers, comedians, and other types of entertainers. This is due to the lack of representation for other successful Blacks such as doctors, attorneys, scientists and politicians among other respectable occupations. It also makes audiences believe that sex with lack of discretion is absolutely fine. These programs that are aired on BET neglect to promote any type of morals or values to the African American audience, and most of all, this station lacks intelligence.
These shows that are aired regularly on BET are also harmful to Blacks because they perpetuate the stereotypes that many people in America have about Black people. For many non-Blacks, the only contact they have with Black people is through images presented by the media. This is problematic in that if all non-Blacks see are sex-crazed, money-obsessed, "ghetto-fabulous" black people, that is what they will generalize as being true of all Black people. Instances and portrayals such as these make the struggle of Blacks for true equality in America even more difficult. Non-whites and even upper class Blacks will not take Black America seriously. Non-blacks will have these misconceptions in their minds and believe that most black people are incapable of being and conducting themselves in an intelligent manner. It is because of this that Blacks are not given the equal opportunity to be successful, whether it is in corporate America, higher education or other realms where connections and networking are vital to success. All of these barriers combined can be attributed almost exclusively to negative media portrayals like those featured on BET.


Some Blacks blame this lack of quality programming on the selling of BET to white-owned Viacom. This writer has to disagree with this argument because we, as black people, have sold ourselves out. Before, when BET was black owned, there were the same types of programming being aired. There were no black dramas or other intellectually stimulating programs being shown. So indeed, we, as black people, are partly to blame for this catastrophe that graces our televisions on a daily basis. This becomes difficult in that we, as Blacks, accept the defamation of our image and choose do nothing about it but watch and be entertained by these false images.
In defense of BET, there are television programs on this network that do attempt to tackle the tough issues that affect the black community. "Teen Summit" and "BET Tonight" are two programs that discuss issues such as AIDS, family problems, troubles in other types of relationships, and other social ills that are affecting the Black community. But, these two shows are so severely overshadowed by the other programs that they often do little to improve the image of Blacks and occasionally fall victim to the lack of intellect that plagues the other programming. In addition, neither of these shows appear during primetime, therefore, they do not receive the attention of the majority of BET's viewers.
Another argument that comes up is that other networks, such as MTV and VH1, show these same music videos and similar comedy specials that dominate the airwaves of BET. Therefore, BET should not be taking the bulk of this criticism. Even though other stations choose to air similar material, it does not make it acceptable for BET to follow in their footsteps and claim to be innovative. Also, these other networks do not make the claim to be committed to Blacks and the black cause, nor do they bear the title or burden of being specifically for black people. BET should be a model for what is right with the black community and not the highlight of what is wrong with it. These other networks may feel that because these awful images are shown on BET, then it is justifiable for them to show these programs as well. This way of thinking only further feeds into the inaccurate conceptions about black people and black communities.


Spike Lee's most recent movie, "Bamboozled" compares modern black entertainment to the minstrel shows of early 20th century and details how Blacks have repeatedly sold themselves out and sold themselves short. BET is at the head of these modern day minstrel shows. There must be a demand on the part of Black-Americans for better programming on BET. We need more shows that accurately depict the state of Blacks in America. Blacks must not be complacent with the garbage that currently is broadcasted daily into their homes. A network that claims to be for Blacks and reflect their lifestyles has to be something that everyone can be proud of. It has to be actively working to disprove the many negative stereotypes that currently exist against Blacks. As it stands, BET is an embarrassment to Black America. There must be a movement of Black people, and others, that lets those in charge of BET know that we are unsatisfied with the quality of programming that currently airs on their station. Until then, BET will continue to be an embarrassment to Black America.

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Forums > Music: Non-Prince > At what point did BET start to suck?