the greatest cable television show

I know it's been on for a bit, but I finally caught on to VH-1's "Ego Trip's The White Rapper Show." I don't have cable, but thanks to the powers of the Interweb, I finally had the chance to watch this show. God bless the man who invented the Internet (big ups to Al Gore).

This program is easily the greatest television show on cable. First off, anyone who read "Ego Trip" magazine back in the day, or read any of their books ("Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists" and "Ego Trip's Big Book of Racism") will realize that not only is the show entertaining and comic, but it's also a great social experiment, probably moreso than "Beauty and the Geek."

The main premise (if you haven't heard) is that 10 would be White rappers duke it out for $100,000 and respek (word to Ali G). The show is hosted by the man who discovered Nas, MC Serch and features cameos from the likes of Prince Paul, Kool Keith, Juelz Santana and Brand Nubian. Those aspects aside, the contestants all hail from varied parts of the United States (and one girl from the UK) and each is unique in their delievery and swagger.

The thing I enjoy most about this show is to see how these contestants view their role and place in hip-hop. Most of the time, it's outright silly, but then there are some moments where the lightbulb goes off.

For example, Persia -- who might be poised to win it -- drops the N-bomb several times on the inept, yet sweet, John Brown. Persia's reasoning is that as she's from Queens and rolls with Black people, she has every right to use it. This kind of ridiculous logic reminds me of suburban kids who have, like, one Black friend or acquaintence and use the N word as if they were saying "the." Unlike, many uneducated people, however, Persia is punished by wearing a heavy necklace which reads: "N-WORD." That's the best example of poetic justice.

As Hip-Hop languishes in its third decade of existence, it's still mind-boggling that a rapper's skin tone is relevant, as opposed to their actual talent. Of course, this is television and it is an Ego Trip production, so perhaps the real joke's on us, as it's given hip-hop fans a forum to discuss such topics. At the very least we can talk about how Dasit looks like Dose One's little brother, but, y'know, wack.