Post by willywonka666 on Jan 4, 2007 20:18:28 GMT -5
NEW YORK - Their very names strike fear in the hearts of white rappers everywhere: Vanilla Ice. Snow. Kevin Federline.
Though there are notable success stories — Eminem and the Beastie Boys, most obviously — pale emcees often travel a hard road to respect. "The White Rapper Show," a new reality program debuting Monday (10:30 p.m. EST on VH1), is both a parody and commentary on race in hip-hop.
The setup is simple and instantly amusing: Ten white amateurs are picked to live in an apartment in New York's South Bronx (the birthplace of hip-hop), where they must prove their rhyming skills and gain respect. The winner gets $100,000.
"White Rapper" is produced by the "ego trip" collective, which started as a magazine co-founded by Sacha Jenkins and Elliot Wilson. The magazine is now defunct, but ego trip has grown into a media company that produces books and provocative television shows ("Race-O-Rama!") often dealing with race and hip-hop.
The host is Michael "MC Serch" Berrin, known for the early '90s hit "The Gas Face" with the group 3rd Bass, who schools the 20-something contestants on the history of hip-hop and the art of the rhyme.
Executive producer Ken Mok, who has helmed reality contest shows like "America's Next Top Model" and "Making the Band," says "White Rapper" is "really about race and the context of white culture verses hip-hop culture."
F**K
Though there are notable success stories — Eminem and the Beastie Boys, most obviously — pale emcees often travel a hard road to respect. "The White Rapper Show," a new reality program debuting Monday (10:30 p.m. EST on VH1), is both a parody and commentary on race in hip-hop.
The setup is simple and instantly amusing: Ten white amateurs are picked to live in an apartment in New York's South Bronx (the birthplace of hip-hop), where they must prove their rhyming skills and gain respect. The winner gets $100,000.
"White Rapper" is produced by the "ego trip" collective, which started as a magazine co-founded by Sacha Jenkins and Elliot Wilson. The magazine is now defunct, but ego trip has grown into a media company that produces books and provocative television shows ("Race-O-Rama!") often dealing with race and hip-hop.
The host is Michael "MC Serch" Berrin, known for the early '90s hit "The Gas Face" with the group 3rd Bass, who schools the 20-something contestants on the history of hip-hop and the art of the rhyme.
Executive producer Ken Mok, who has helmed reality contest shows like "America's Next Top Model" and "Making the Band," says "White Rapper" is "really about race and the context of white culture verses hip-hop culture."
F**K
