If you:
+ Only heard "Rapper's Delight" for the first time when that old lady in The Wedding Singer dropped a few lines in that ridick scene
+ First heard of Dr. Dre when Eminem mentioned him
+ Don't remember when the Beastie Boys were actually boys
+ Didn't realize that the Fresh Prince and Will Smith were the same person, or that he left DJ Jazzy Jeff behind when he moved to Bel Air
+ Didn't realize Rev Run was, um, in a rap group
+ Didn't realize Ice-T had a whole separate career before he played Fin Tutuola on Law & Order: SVU
+ Didn't realize Jennifer Lopez and Diddy were once a couple
+ Don't know who the Fly Girls were
+ Thought Queen Latifah made her showbiz debut in BarberShop 2
And/or
+ Don't know who Kid or Play is...
Then you probably need a serious dose of Yo! MTV Raps, the seminal national hip-hop show that was the. shiz. on MTV back in the late '80s and early '90s. The show took hip-hop out of the New York boroughs and pockets of urban Cali, where it'd been brewing, and into the homes of anyone with MTV, beginning in 1988, and it's been a legend ever since.
Now, 20 years later, we've dusted off the turntables -- and the set -- and invited back host Fab 5 Freddy and an impressive roster of the original voices, leaders and pioneers of the hip-hop movement and resurrected Yo! MTV Raps.
Check out old-school videos you haven't seen in ages (or didn't know existed), original clips from the show, interviews, exclusive photos and more, and school yourself in samples you didn't even realize were samples. (Plus: so much sick '80s style from the days before it was ironic.)
But first: a few choice back-in-the-day clips and classic videos: