Bob Johnson's Wife is Ashamed of BET

by Dr. Boyce Watkins

Thirty years ago, with $15,000 dollars in seed money and another $500,000 in bank loans, Sheila Crump Johnson and her ex-husband, Bob Johnson founded Black Entertainment Television. Since that time, the couple has earned over $1 billion dollars from their tiny investment, and BET is a household name. They sold the company to Viacom in 2000 for $1.3 billion, making them richer than Oprah Winfrey.

Now, the 60-year old woman who founded the company with her husband says that she is ashamed of the channel:
"Don't even get me started," says Mrs. Johnson. "I don't watch it. I suggest to my kids that they don't watch it... I'm ashamed of it, if you want to know the truth."

Johnson goes on to admit that BET may be contributing to the spread of AIDS in the black community by promoting raunchy, unprotected sex in rap music videos.
"When we started BET, it was going to be the Ebony magazine on television," Johnson told The Daily Beast. "We had public affairs programming. We had news... I had a show called Teen Summit, we had a large variety of programming, but the problem is that then the video revolution started up... And then something started happening, and I didn't like it at all. And I remember during those days we would sit up and watch these videos and decide which ones were going on and which ones were not. We got a lot of backlash from recording artists...and we had to start showing them. I didn't like the way women were being portrayed in these videos."

 

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Mario featuring Brandy: "Boom In It"

Here's Mario's song, "Boom In It", featuring Brandy. Nice Sound!!!!

Mariah Carey's "Obsessed"

Here's Mariah's latest, "Obsessed". It will be on her upcoming album, "Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel" in stores August 25.



What do you think?!

Ruben Studdard's "Together"

Ruben's back! Heard his latest song on the radio the other day. Here's the video for his song, "Together".




Nice song!!!! Good to see him doing his thang!!!!

Heather Headley's Album Tops Charts

Songstress Heather Headley's latest album, "Audience of One", is topping the charts. The album holds the number one slot on Billboard's Top Christian and Gospel Charts and number six on the R&B chart.

Headley has had a number of appearances lately: the "We Are One" concert & is a featured performer on BET's "Celebration of Gospel" show.

Here's "Jesus is Love" with Smokie Norful from her album:



Congrats Heather!!!

For the Chris Brown Fans: "Save Me"

Here's Chris' latest song that's going around the Net, "Save Me".

Check it out HERE

Keyshia Cole's: "You Complete Me"

Here's Keyshia's next single, "You Complete Me":


Download Keyshia Cole - You Complete Me

Keyshia Cole News

Keyshia Cole's reality show, "The Way It Is", begins tonight @ 10p (Eastern) on BET. Also, in the works for the songstress is the December 10th release of her third album, "A Different Me".

“The first two albums were more … painful,” she says. “It’s a different me this time, a young woman who’s still growing and finding myself, exploring life through different routes musically and in other areas. I wrote more about other people’s situations than my own. I’m moving forward,” she tells Billboard in an exclusive interview.

“A Different Me” features Cole collaborating with Polow Da Don, the Runners, Neffu, Kwame, Orthodox & Ransom and the Trackmasters. Tracks include the lead single “Playa Cardz Right,” featuring a posthumous Tupac Shakur, “Trust,” featuring real-life friend Monica, and the Polow Da Don-produced “Make Me Over.” Cole further hones her ballad skills on the track “You Complete Me” and flashes a sultry side on a cover of R. Kelly’s 1992 No. 1 R&B hit, “Honey Love.”

Keep it coming, Keyshia!!

Jamie Foxx's "Intuition"

Jamie Foxx's next CD, "Intuition" is scheduled to hit stores on December 16, 2008. This will be Jamie's third CD; prior CD, "Unpredictable", sold 1.98 million copies in the U.S. (per Nielsen SoundScan).

"Intuition" will also include collaborations with Timbaland, Ne-Yo, Sean Garrett, Salaam Remi and Carlos McKinney, among others. Currently, Foxx's song, "Just Like Me", featuring T.I. is #48 on Billboard's R&B/Hip Hop chart.

Mary, Mary's New CD: "The Sound"

For the Gospel fans out there, Mary, Mary has released their latest CD, "The Sound". According to music reviews:


The duo sticks to the same formula on the CD "The Sound." Mary Mary churns out solid songs praising Jesus Christ alongside signature uptempo hooks on songs such as "Get Up" and "Boom." Mary Mary uses trendy vocoder vocals on "God In Me," featuring Kierra Sheard. The group also teams up with rapper David Banner on the anthem-like "Superfriend."

But the CD isn't filled with just vibrant, danceable grooves. On the guitar-driven ballad "Dirt," the sisters deliver a message that could rejuvenate anyone as they both bellow in harmony, "Champions never accept defeat/You fall and get back on your feet." And on ballad "Forgive Me," the singers talk about past failings and how tribulations helped their maturation as women.







Check out their song, "Get Up":

Get Up

Steve Harvey & Disney's Dreamers Academy

For the 2nd year in a row, Steve Harvey & Disney are having the Disney Dreamers Academy (DDA). According to news from Disney:

Teens from across the country with big dreams and aspirations can be nominated during September to be part of the Disney's Dreamers Academy class of 2009. One hundred high school students will be selected from among those nominated to participate in the academy Feb. 12-15, 2009, at Walt Disney World Resort.

DDA is an event created to inspire and enrich high school students and will include workshops with Disney cast members and executives, sessions with entertainment celebrities and professional athletes, and time to enjoy the Disney theme parks, where participants can see, first-hand, the results of people who turned their dreams into careers as 'Disney dreamers.' The student participants will learn about careers in everything from culinary arts to animation, set design and show production to the business of sports and more.

Nominations are accepted between Sept. 1-30, 2008. For more information, visit www.SteveHarvey.com/disneysdreamersacademy.

YourBlackCelebrities: Wendy Williams Meets Her Online Prototype

Who is the queen of all media? Well, that would be Oprah. But the queen of radio would be Wendy Williams, and the queen of Internet Celebrity Gossip would be Lady Drama. Her work with AllHipHop.com, YourBlackWorld.com and TheSource.com has black people talking all over America.


Lady Drama (AKA Ebony Garris) appeared with Wendy Williams on her new show this week. The Queen of Urban Radio made comments about how fabulous Ebony looked, as Lady Drama is the Queen of online media.

Click here to watch the video.