2 days ago
Fat Joe Calls Pause On BET Hip-Hop Awards 'Gentrification'
Fat Joe and Jadakiss had an honest conversation about BET.
The two rappers, who now host the Joe and Jada podcast, spoke out about recent news that the network has suspended the production of the BET Hip-Hop Awards, as well as the Soul Train Awards.
'This is a form of gentrification, what's going on. I don't know if you really want to ask me about this sh*t,' explained the Bronx rapper. He continued to share his theory about the slow downfall of the network.
'BET came up as a community station for Black people and urban culture. Our man Bob Johnson took the check…he sold it to Viacom Paramount. MTV and them. VH1 and them. Little by little over the years, quietly, they've been firing a lot of people behind the scenes at BET, and everybody who has something to say, they been firing them. And I know 'cause I've been working on the BET Hip-Hop Awards for three years. Sh*t was like the budget, not for me, but the budget just kept getting chopped and chopped and chopped.'
Fat Joe went on to compare the Hip-Hop awards to other ceremonies, including the Video Music Awards.
'Last year, I debuted my single with [DJ] Khaled at the VMAs, and Katy Perry still flying through the air… They still got all the tricks. They still got the budgets. They got the sh*t. I think in the entertainment world, this is a form of gentrification. They kept underfunding them, underfunding them, underfunding them. And you ain't got no money to be creative. That's why you was watching the 'ratchet awards' and all that. They ain't had no bread.'
'They have bread for what they wanna have bread for,' interjected Jadakiss.
The reaction comes after BET CEO Scott Mills confirmed earlier this week that there would be a shift at the platform regarding the two mainstays.
'So for BET linear, we have suspended the Soul Train and Hip-Hop award shows. But we have a team that's actively thinking about where those award shows might best live as the media climate continues to evolve. They aren't gone. And we also still have the NAACP Image Awards and the Stellar Awards,' he explained.
Watch Fat Joe and Jadakiss break down their thoughts below.
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