Three years ago, MTV celebrated the 20th anniversary of “Yo! MTV Raps,” which ran from 1988 until 1997. “Yo!” showcased hip hop music and was an outlet for all the popular rappers of the day. When MTV revived the show, in 2008, many fans hoped they would keep it on their schedule.
Despite the success of the 2008 version of “Yo! MTV Raps,” MTV did not keep the program and focused more on their reality programs, instead. However, earlier this year, MTV2 has had more of a focus on hip hop. On the weekends, MTV2 was already showing the “Sucker Free Countdown” and more hip hop programs were added. In addition to the hip hop programs, reruns of “Martin” and “The Wayans Bros.” were also added to the schedule.
MTV2 has become the new home for hip hop on television, as BET has shifted most of its programs to scripted sitcoms. On December 4, the MTV2 network will premiere the first-ever Sucker Free Awards, which is a hip hop awards show named after their flagship original program, “Sucker Free Countdown.” In addition to the classic black sitcoms of the 1990s and the hip hop programming, MTV2 will now be home to the new version of “Yo! MTV Raps.”
