“Yo! MTV Raps” Is Returning, But Can It Live Up To Its Legacy?

Classic music video TV series “Yo! MTV Raps” is making a comeback.

The show, which ran from 1988 to 1995, served as MTV’s first hip-hop show, with Fab 5 Freddy as the original weekday host. Freddy would eventually move to weekends, having Doctor Dre and Ed Lover taking over for the week. Some of rap’s most prominent names graced the show, including Notorious B.I.G., P. Diddy, Redman, Tupac Shakur, Nas, and TLC, just to name a few. Its final episode aired on August 17th, 1995. In recent years, talks have swirled that the series would be making a return, appealing to the newer generation of hip-hop. However, nothing was ever confirmed until now.

On Monday, Paramount+ announced that the series reboot would be coming to their platform, premiering later this month. Battle rapper Conceited and DJ Diamond Kuts have been named hosts, with several of today’s hottest acts already booked to appear on the show. One of hip-hop’s most rebellious yet most fierce lyricists, Freddie Gibbs, will serve as the show’s inaugural guest. Latto, J.I.D., and Tee Grizzley will follow.

In addition to showing the latest music videos, the reimagined version of “Yo! MTV Raps” will focus on live performances, ciphers, and other music content.

None of the OG hosts have commented on the reboot. However, their apprehension about a modern “Yo! MTV Raps” has been felt for years. During an interview in April 2018, Doctor Dre stated that the classic series worked well because “videos were important back then.” With streaming being today’s preferred way of consuming music, he was unsure whether the series would have the same impact.

Though it remains to be seen if the new “Yo! MTV Raps” will live up to its iconic name, viewers can see for themselves when it debuts on May 24th.