By Akeem Mellis
With the controversy over the comments made by Don Imus showing consequences for Hip Hop, many are questioning the content shown on Black Entertainment Television, which plays rap videos constantly.
However, according to a former BET Producer, the network along with its owner, Viacom, are deliberately promoting certain types of videos to make the maximum amount of profit possible.
David K. Far-El, a former producer for BET, was invited to the University to speak at the event “I Hate BET: Confessions of a BET Producer,” sponsored by the University NAACP on Thursday night.
“We were set up,” Far-El said, as he told his story of how he went from working at MTV-which he said was observing the BET show “Rap City” for tips on which rap videos to show-to BET. BET hired Far-El to produce a show on black romance novels but later produced “Rap City.”
Yet, as time went on, Far-El and other producers on the network were given deliberate directions regarding which videos to play.
“BET Video Programming gives [us] lists of videos to play. If we don’t play it, we would get in trouble”, he said. According to Far-El, these artists included Ciara, B2K, and rap star Jay-Z, all of whom were heavily promoted on BET’s flagship show “106 and Park,” which he called “rigged.”
The speech was preceded by an audio clip of an interview of Far-El with New York City radio host Wendy Williams, in which he claimed that he was censored from mentioning certain things.
Far-El continued with criticism on Stephen Hill, the network’s vice president of Entertainment, saying that “everything on that station is dictated.”
He also said that he had “no idea that what I created would turn into a monster,” referring to BETs “Spring Bling,” and talked about how former television host Dave Chapelle was “railroaded” by the same executives at Viacom.
Yet, the most shocking and notorious comments came not about his former employer, but in regards to other related issues. Far-El condemned Imus, calling him a “racist, sexist cracker” for his comments three weeks ago.
He went on to speak about society at large, saying, “We live in a racist, sexist, European male-dominated society.” He sharply attacked CNN’s Anderson Cooper, the New York Police Department, the United States government regarding the events of September 11, and FEMA. He discussed how he thinks “white America” has blacks infighting, the overall influence of the media, and went on to repeatedly use the n-word.
“My intention was to inform the public of what’s going on. I was lied to. When I was pouring salt, I was really pouring cyanide,” Far-El said as he encouraged the students in attendance to decide for themselves what they want for their futures.
The reaction to his speech was divided, especially among the Executive Board of the NAACP.
“The speaker was great. He spoke his mind and did exactly what I wanted him to do: educate our listeners,” Kerby Jean-Raymond, director of Publication for the club, said.
Danielle Johnson, the fundraising chair, said Far-El was “somewhat controversial. He spoke truths people were afraid to say themselves. His experience and what he saw makes me wonder what the media is feeding us.”
“It’s his opinion, not ours,” Sean Hutchinson, the University NAACP president, said. “What he said went against what we believed-his use of the n-word, but we can’t control his free speech.”
Seidi Quinones, the second vice president of the NAACP said that while Far-El’s words did not reflect the comments and views of the club, they do appreciate him for appearing at the University and sharing his opinion.
After producing BET’s popular music video show, “Rap City,” David Far-El had no control over what videos ran on the network, based on other programmers that set regulations.