Video Vibrations

Last updated

Video Vibrations was a 4-hour-long daily video block that showcased popular music videos. It was one of BET's early video shows. The show aired October 1, 1984 until 1997, [1] when it was changed to Vibrations. It was developed to appeal to black audiences and show a wider array of black music than MTV or other networks at the time. [2] [3]

Contents

The first video on Video Vibrations was Prince's When Doves Cry. In the beginning, due to a limited supply of videos from black artists, popular mainstream white artists with crossover appeal were also featured in the lineup. As the supply of videos from black artists expanded, so did BET's position as an influential voice of the music industry. [4]

Hosts

The show was hosted by a VJ speaking offscreen. All 3 hosts were prominent in radio as well.

Music Intros

The program did not use a theme song or used any recorded tracks until 1991, when they used the single "Mindflux" from the British act N-Joi as their "theme song" for their intros and breaks up until they left the air in 1997.

Related Research Articles

Fab Five Freddy American artist

Fred Brathwaite, more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer. He is considered one of the architects of the street art movement. Freddy emerged in New York's downtown underground creative scene in the late 1970s as a graffiti artist. He was the bridge between the burgeoning uptown rap scene and the downtown No Wave art scene. He was immortalized in 1981 when Debbie Harry rapped on the Blondie song "Rapture" that "Fab 5 Freddy told me everybody's fly." In the late 1980s, Freddy became the first host of the groundbreaking hip-hop music video show Yo! MTV Raps.

Yo-Yo (rapper) American rapper and actress

Yolanda Whitaker, also known as Yo-Yo is an American rapper and actress.

BET American pay television channel owned by ViacomCBS

Black Entertainment Television is an American cable television channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks unit of ViacomCBS via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and was formerly headquartered in Washington, D.C.

BET Jams American pay television channel

BET Jams is an American pay television network controlled by BET Networks and owned by ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks. The channel features hip-hop and urban contemporary music videos. The network, formerly known as MTV Jams, was rebranded under the BET banner on October 5, 2015.

BET Soul American pay television network

BET Soul is an American pay television network that is controlled by the BET Networks division of ViacomCBS, which owns the network. The channel showcases R&B, funk, soul, neo soul, hip hop, jazz and Motown music from various decades. The channel uses an automated "wheel" schedule that was introduced during the early years of MTV2 and is also used by sister channel BET Jams. The loop repeats three times a day, starting at 6 a.m. Eastern Time, and then resetting at 2 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Canadian hip hop

The Canadian hip hop scene was established in the 1980s. Through a variety of factors, it developed much slower than Canada's popular rock music scene, and apart from a short-lived burst of mainstream popularity from 1989 to 1991, it remained largely an underground phenomenon until the early 2000s.

<i>Yo! MTV Raps</i> American television music video program

Yo! MTV Raps was an American two-hour television music video program, which first aired on MTV Europe from 1987 to mid-90s and on MTV US from August 1988 to August 1995. The American version of the program was the first hip hop music show on the network, and was based on the original MTV Europe 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 and comedy. The show also yielded a Brazilian version called Yo! MTV and broadcast by MTV Brasil from 1990 to 2005.

Soul Train Music Awards

The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of Soul Train, the program from which it takes its name, and features musical performances by various contemporary R&B and soul music recording artists interspersed throughout the ceremonies. The special traditionally used to air in either February, March or April, but now airs the last weekend of November.

<i>Rap City</i>

Rap City 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 was an exclusive showcase for hip hop music videos, and features interviews with and freestyles from popular rappers, and often has guest DJs serve as co-hosts.

Serbian hip hop refers to all genres of hip hop music in the Serbian language. The term is also sometimes used to refer to any hip hop music made by Serbs, including instrumental hip hop, as well as rap songs by members of the Serbian diaspora, often in languages other than Serbian. Some of most prominent hip hop groups include VIP, Sunshine, CYA, Beogradski Sindikat, Bad Copy. Popular solo artists include Juice, Gru, Struka, Ajs Nigrutin, Marčelo, Zli Toni, Fox, Surreal, Furio Djunta, Demonio.

<i>Video Soul</i>

Video Soul is a two–hour long American music video program that originally aired on BET from June 26, 1981 to September 1996. The program was devoted to showcasing R&B and Soul recording artists and performers' music videos.

Video LP is a half-hour, live viewer call-in program that debuted in 1986 on BET. It primarily showcased R&B/Soul and Hip-Hop music videos. The original hostess was Robin Breedon, but the most well-known host was Sherry Carter from 1989 until 1992, when she moved on to co-host Video Soul from 1992-1996). Madelyne Woods also served as hostess for a short time.

<i>Midnight Love</i> (TV series)

Midnight Love is a late-night music video block on the BET network that originally aired from August 10, 1985 until September 3, 2005. The show's creator, Alvin Jones, occasionally in voiceover, alongside various music artists. It showcased music videos of R&B/Soul ballads and Quiet Storm songs.

The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and was first aired November 15, hosted by comedian Katt Williams.

The Lyricist Lounge Show is an American sketch comedy series that aired on MTV from 2000 to 2001 that combined hip-hop music with raps interspersed throughout the sketches. As Wordsworth, BabeePower, and Master Fuol rap on the theme song: "Welcome to the lyricist lounge show, it's rappin' and actin', laughin', clappin', lights, cameras, action, we're the first ones to ever place a sketch to a beat, it's the avenue the street where hip hop and comedy meet..." The show is also noted as the first program to feature Tracee Ellis Ross before she stars on the UPN sitcom Girlfriends.

Softnotes is a multi-hour music television program created for Black Entertainment Television. It debuted in the fall of 1987, and was created and produced by Alvin Jones, the former host of Video Vibrations. This program focused on the genre known as Smooth Jazz, mixing up R&B, Soft Rock, & Easy Listening videos. This also showed the growing diversity of BET, and paved the way for other Jazz-dedicated shows like Sound & Style with Ramsey Lewis and Jazz Central. Eventually, the program spun off the BET on Jazz digital cable channel, which is currently BET Her. Softnotes remained on the air until 1991, and Paul Porter would host the remainder of the show until it went off the air in mid-late 1991.

<i>Video Music Box</i>

Video Music Box is an American music television program. The series is the first to feature hip hop videos primarily, and was created in 1983 by Ralph McDaniels and Lionel C. Martin, who also serve as the series' hosts. It aired on the New York City-owned public television station WNYC-TV from 1984 to 1996. In 1996, the program moved to WNYE-TV after WNYC-TV was sold by the city to a private company. Presenting new R&B music alongside popular rap videos, the show appealed to teens and young adults.

References

  1. Harris, Christopher (2017-02-07). "BET's Rap City: An Oral History of TV's Longest-Running Hip-Hop Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  2. Keyes, Cheryl Lynette (2004). Rap Music and Street Consciousness. University of Illinois Press. p. 101. ISBN   978-0-252-07201-7.
  3. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1992-05-30. p. 101.
  4. Pulley, Brett (2005-10-05). The Billion Dollar BET: Robert Johnson and the Inside Story of Black Entertainment Television. John Wiley & Sons. p. 60. ISBN   978-0-471-73597-7.