REVIEW: ‘Welcome to Rap City’
Sports and Music Editor Will Lyons gives you a deep dive on the three-part docu-series on the BET’s legendary show “Rap City” and it’s significance to the culture.
BET recently released a 3 part docuseries on the iconic show “Rap City” titled “Welcome to Rap City”. Growing up in the 90s and early 2000s this show provided many iconic moments for the culture and provided opportunities for many lesser known artists to be introduced to the mainstream fan base. We learned about the different eras of the show and how each host got their break (most notably Joe Clair and Big Les and the iconic Big Tigger) and how the shows origination in DC really highlighted a great time in ‘Chocolate City’.
Highlights
Rap City’s first episode aired in 1989 and the last episode aired in 2008 making it the longest running show in rap/hip-hop history.
Big Les and Joe Clair were true embodiment’s of the culture. Les was a beacon of light and hope for many black girls/women. She was intelligent, fly and provided a place of comfort for female emcees in a time where women rarely had a voice or a platform. Joe Clair was knowledgeable on rap, had a lively personality and was the original host that rapped with the artists. This duo was truly ahead of their time.
The rebrand of Rap City to Rap City: The Basement was genius and gave birth to the version of the show that my generation was familiar with. Big Tigger hosted with a unique swagger and gave many rappers a run for their money when they stepped in the infamous “Booth”. This was peak BET and had millions glued to their televisions from start to finish.
Walking down memory lane will take you to YouTube to watch famous Basement freestyles like Cam’ron, Lil Wayne, G-Unit and many more.
Staying ready has been the recipe for success for black people since the beginning of time. Seeing multiple Rap City hosts get their big break as a stand in for someone further stresses the importance of this and is just really awesome to see.
The End
Relocation, growing pains and changes in the show’s hosts were supposed to breathe new life into BET and its biggest show Rap City. Instead it complicated things as many artists preferred DC to the New York set. Prior to watching the docu-series I never knew that there was a beef between Rap City and hit show 106 & Park. As 106 & Park continued to gain popularity many of the artists that used to frequent Rap City started to choose to appear on 106 instead — severely hurting Rap City.
The final nail in the coffin was BET’s leadership deciding to have Big Tigger become the 106 & Park host after the iconic hosts, AJ & Free, stepped down. A big opportunity that Tigger could not pass up but Rap City was doomed. The docuseries was a great watch and really provided some history and inside looks at the rise and fall of one of the most legendary shows in BET (and Black History).
Side Note
BET better be cooking up a docuseries on the rise and fall of 106 & Park now. If you were “outside” when 106 was at its peak it was truly must see television with an array of celebrity appearances, performances and iconic moments (anyone remember Rap City?). This is another show that deserves to be highlighted for the many millennials that grew up on 106 & Rap City.
