G.O.A.T Talk with Hannah Stoudemire Hannah Stoudemire

When Hip-Hop was born, it wasn't promoted on radio stations, and the parties where this new genre could be listened to weren't marketed on mainstream channels; it was a word of mouth kind of thing. DJs, dancers, and promoters would do their part and bring on their own crowds. 
 
Hip-Hop was a lot of things, it was a scream for freedom from the oppressed Black youth, a cultural expression, and a channel to express political and social issues. But it was still unknown for a massive part of its audience, who didn't know what they needed already existed. 
 
There is where our guest, Ralph McDaniel, Uncle Ralph, comes into the scene. Ralph created a space to interview rappers and Hip-Hop artists and provide a stage where they could perform. Ralph would air this content at NYC-TV, a local station. Video Music Box would be born, and they would air music videos, something rare at the time. Ralph's work would promote Black artists, incentivize and inspire thousands of people, and show Black folk on TV in a positive way. At that time, every time a Black person was on TV, they were being pushed against a cop car. 
 
Ralph McDaniel is the Principal CEO at Video Music Box and CEO of Uncle Ralph Music & TV. He promoted pretty much every rapper and Hip-Hop artist we know, like Jay Z, Notorious B.I.G, Nas, or DMX, to name some of them. He is a living legend, and basically, the man who gave birth to a culture. 
 
Today, we delve into Ralph's past, how he decided to start documenting these unknown Black musicians, and why he thought some people needed to watch them sing and perform. We explored the origins of Video Music Box, its influence over several generations of artists, and how it changed so many people's lives. We also talked about the differences between modern and old school rap music, the time Jay Z took Michael Jackson to VMB's studio to perform, Ralph's most significant obstacles in his journey, and much more.
 
Tune in and listen to episode 1 of G.O.A.T Talk and learn a bit more about the man 
 
Some Questions I Ask:
What does Hip Hop mean to you? (1:47)Tell us about Video Music Box. Can you speak about how important it was for the community? (5:14)You have 30 years of content. Where are you keeping all this content? (22:33)What do you think about the current state of hip hop? (30:46) 
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
What was the reason behind Ralph's desire to promote these young Black artists on TV (5:28)About how Ralph introduced Hip-Hop to the world (28:35)A No is more powerful than a Yes (33:56)The day Michael Jackson went to Video Music Box (48:47)The most challenging obstacle Ralph faced leading the Music Video Box project (55:05) 
Resources:
Video Music Box website 
Connect with Ralph:
LinkedInInstagram 
Let's Connect!
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