Thirty-five years after the seismic show “Yo! MTV Raps” stormed onto the broadcast music scene and saturated popular culture, the legendary program is making a long-awaited comeback.
“Yo! MTV Raps,” which debuted in 1988 and quickly became one of the highest-rated shows in MTV history, ran until 1995 and introduced the mainstream to an endless cavalcade of canonized rap legends. Back then, host Ed Lover and Dr. Dre (no, not the producer and rap icon) gave way to marquee names that are synonymous with the golden age of hip-hop, including LL Cool J, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Biggie Smalls, Run DMC, Eric B and Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest and so many others.
Paramount+ is hoping to bottle up some of that magic and spray it on a new generation of hip-hop heads will air weekly beginning on May 24 with Freddie Gibbs. Future takeovers are scheduled from the likes of Latto, Saba, JID, Shenseea, Tee Grizzley, IDK, and Trina, according to Complex.
The publication also stated that more stars are going to make appearances throughout the season, including Baby Tate, Just Blaze, and Maino.
Old heads won’t be left out. Fans who were teens and tweens in the 1990s will love that Paramount+ will feature archived episodes from the show’s original run alongside past episodes of VH1’s “Behind The Music” and the MTV staple, “Unplugged.”
Check out a clip from the upcoming season of “Yo! MTV Raps.”
