BET Sets Second Hip Hop Town Hall Series

Three-Part Series Focuses On Social Implications Of Music Genre

By Larry Barrett -- Multichannel News, 6/20/2008 1:27:00 PM

BET News next week will air Hip Hop Vs. America II: Where Did The Love Go?, the second installment of its popular town hall series featuring prominent African American music artists, journalists and activists candidly discussing the societal impact of hip hop music and music videos.

Hosted by BET News correspondent Jeff Johnson and hip hop pioneer MC Lyte, the primetime special provides “a platform for a heated debate that aims to uncover the cause and effect of relationships between Black men and women.,” network officials said.

Part I premieres Wednesday, June 25 at 8 p.m. ET with Part II airing Thursday, June 26, also at 8 p.m. on BET. Part III will air exclusively on “BET On Blast,” the network’s broadband channel, immediately following the conclusion of Part II.

Participants in Hip Hop Vs. America II include: David Banner (rapper/producer); Lil X (director); Talib Kweli (hip hop recording artist); Lyfe Jennings (R&B recording artist); Lola Ogunaike (journalist); Allison Samuels (Newsweek magazine); Nelson George (author/director/producer); Kevin Powell (writer/cultural critic); Michael Eric Dyson (author/professor, Georgetown University); Deelishis London Charles (winner, Flavor of Love 2); Angel Lola Love (video model/actress); Kim Osorio (author); Fershgenet Melaku (video model/actress); Michaela Angela Davis (journalist); Esther Armah (BBC journalist); Eugene Rivers (Christian activist); Clayton Gavin (hip hop artist/activist); Marc Lamont Hill (professor, Temple University); Melissa Harris Lacewell (professor, Princeton University); Lavonne Alford (recording artist); Beverly Bond (founder, Black Girls Rock, Inc. / hip hop DJ); Moya Bailey (activist/actor); Byron Hurt (filmmaker); Henry Bonsu (journalist); Akosua Anobil-Dodoo (journalist); LaShawna Stanley (President/CEO, Ethnicity Models); Ali LeRoi (producer/writer/director); M1 Dead Prez (hip hop artist/activist); and San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris.

Selwyn Seyfu Hinds is executive producing the three-part series.