Video Music Box is an American music television program. The series is the first to feature hip hop videos primarily. Created in 1983 by Ralph McDaniels, it was one of the most influential television shows to give urban artists mainstream exposure. It aired on the New York City-owned public television station WNYC-TV (now WPXN-TV) in from 1984 to 1996. In 1996, the program moved to WNYE-TV after WNYC-TV was sold by the city to a private company.
Many artists from the Golden Age of Hip Hop made their debuts on Video Music Box. Although it is ostensibly a local show, its influence has been very widespread and has been considered a major factor in the growth of Hip hop music and culture.
The show is hosted by Ralph McDaniels and Lionel "The Vid Kid" Martin.
Read more about Video Music Box: Show Format & Guest Hosts
Famous quotes containing the words video, music and/or box:
“We attempt to remember our collective American childhood, the way it was, but what we often remember is a combination of real past, pieces reshaped by bitterness and love, and, of course, the video past—the portrayals of family life on such television programs as “Leave it to Beaver” and “Father Knows Best” and all the rest.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)
“While the music is performed, the cameras linger savagely over the faces of the audience. What a bottomless chasm of vacuity they reveal! Those who flock round the Beatles, who scream themselves into hysteria, whose vacant faces flicker over the TV screen, are the least fortunate of their generation, the dull, the idle, the failures . . .”
—Paul Johnson (b. 1928)
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—Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965)