{{short description|American music television show}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox television | image = Video Music Box.jpg | caption = Title card | alt_name = | camera = | runtime = 60 minutes | creator = | executive_producer = | starring = {{plainlist| * Ralph McDaniels * Lionel C. Martin<ref name="soulculture">{{cite web|url=https://soulculture.com/features/lionel-c-martin-a-pioneer-in-visual-production-inthevisuals/|title=Lionel C. Martin: A Pioneer In Visual Production {{!}} InTheVisuals {{!}} SoulCulture|work=Soul Culture|last=Williams|first=Chris|date=April 3, 2011|accessdate=February 25, 2015}}</ref>}} | narrator = Ralph McDaniels | open_theme = "Five Minutes of Funk",<ref>{{YouTube|3w8-lXBtJlk|"5 Minutes of Funk" (1984)}}</ref> performed by Whodini | country = United States | network = WNYC-TV (1983–1996)<br />WNYE-TV (1996–present) | first_aired = {{Start date|1983}} | last_aired = present | num_episodes = }}
'''''Video Music Box''''' was an American music television program. The series is the first to feature hip hop videos primarily,<ref>{{IMDb title|0426817}}</ref><ref>Century, Douglas, ''Street Kingdom: Five Years Inside the Franklin Avenue Posse''. New York: Warner Books, 1999. {{ISBN|0-446-52266-X}} </ref> and was created in 1983 by Ralph McDaniels and Lionel C. Martin, who also serve as the series' hosts.<ref name="soulculture"/> It aired on the New York City-owned public television station WNYC-TV (now WPXN-TV) from 1984 to 1996.
In 1996, the program moved to WNYE-TV after WNYC-TV was sold by the city to a private company. Presenting new R&B music alongside popular rap videos, the show appealed to teens and young adults.
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 it has been considered a major factor in the growth of Hip hop music and culture.<ref name="villagevoice">{{cite web|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2011/11/16/ralph-mcdaniels-keeps-hip-hop-culture-moving-forward/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913084855/https://www.villagevoice.com/2011/11/16/ralph-mcdaniels-keeps-hip-hop-culture-moving-forward/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 13, 2018 |title=Ralph McDaniels Keeps Hip-Hop Culture Moving Forward |work=The Village Voice|author=J. Pablo|date=November 16, 2011|access-date=February 25, 2015}}</ref>
==Show format & guest hosts== {{clear}}thumb|left|upright=0.95|Microphone box used by Ralph McDaniels on The Video Music Box c. 1990s. Image courtesy of Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. ''Video Music Box'' differed from other video shows of its era and after by eschewing a studio format. Most shows were shot on-location throughout New York City, in parks, schools, and nightclubs. During interludes between videos, the hosts would often allow regular people to give shout-outs to their friends and families. Very often, the hosts would also do man-on-the-street segments where they discussed various topics of the day, such as the first Gulf War, teen sex, and issues in hip hop and music in general.
The show also featured such theme-based shows during the week as slow jams on Tuesdays, nervous Thursdays hosted by Crazy Sam, and old-school Fridays. Among the other hosts the show has had during its run were Tuffy and Ray Dejon. Ray would eventually branch the show to Albany, N.Y. hosted by Ladi Kutz.
The program was the subject of a 2021 Showtime documentary, ''You're Watching Video Music Box''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sho.com/titles/3503704/youre-watching-video-music-box | title=You're Watching Video Music Box | SHOWTIME }}</ref> {{clear}}
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==Film== * {{cite AV media | people=Nasir "Nas" Jones| title = You're Watching Video Music Box | work= Showtime Documentary Films | url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15788244/|year = 2021}}
==External links== *{{official website|https://videomusicbox.com/}}
Category:1983 American television series debuts Category:Hip-hop television Category:Local music television shows in the United States Category:1980s American music television series Category:1990s American music television series Category:2000s American music television series Category:2010s American music television series Category:2020s American music television series Category:English-language American television shows
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