AN ODE TO VIDEO MUSIC BOX & RALPH MCDANIELSIt's funny how BET's video show "106th & Park" is not even in Harlem as it's location name suggests rather it's located in midtown. Instead, there you will find the graffiti piece below celebrating Ralph McDaniels' Video Music Box Silver Anniversary right on 106th in White Park Handball Courts.
See before BET, MTV, Fuse and countless others there was Video Music Box. And before Ed Lover & Dr. Dre, Downtown Julie Brown, Fab 5 Freddy (VJ wise), Tigger, Sway, Free & AJ, Kurt Loder, Terence & Rocsi there was Uncle Ralph McDaniels the original hip hop VJ (Video Jockey)
Video Music Box kinda raised me, straight up that was my baby sitter. After school I would run home to turn to channel 31 everyday at 3:30 to watch the latest videos. Though not a network like the aforementioned, as a 1 hour show it by far was the first video show or channel/network to feature rap videos. I wouldn't have known about hip hop as much I do now had it not been for VMB. To give you an example Video Music Box started in '84 a year after BET started and BET wasn't even showin real hip hop like that till later (remember all they had was Video Soul), and MTV didn't play hip hop at all at the time. Plus who the fuck had cable in the hood during the mid 80's? And don't act like you ain't think "cable" was just a thick ass wire either!
Uncle Ralph (McDaniels) got his name from DJ Red Alert. And like Red, Ralph would show love to the underground artists on his show. I knew about Azie, Alpo & Rich from Mobstyle's (Azie's group)
"What's Going On Black" video way before Feds Magazine & "Paid In Full" the movie, and Uncle Ralph was the only one showing it on his show. "Dead Presidents" wasn't Jay-Z's first solo video, it was "I Can't Get With That" & "In My Life Time" back when Jay was independent & guess who was the only one showin it. Prior to Nas' Illmatic dropping, Uncle Ralph filmed & narrated the
Nas Illmatic EPK which documented the making of Nas' classic album. It has since become an internet favorite & classic video clip. He went on to produce Nas' "It Ain't Hard To Tell Video" amongst others like Wu's "C.R.E.A.M", Rae & Ghost's "Heaven or Hell" & "Incarcerated Scarfaces", Black Moon's "Who Got The Props" and many more. Lionel "The Vid Kid" Williams who was Uncle Ralphs first co-host even went on to become a major video director and won many awards including an MTV Moon Man for TLC's "Waterfall" video. His other co-host Tuffy had a guest appearance in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever" & Ralph himself starred in "Who's The Man" to just show you the magnitude of the show.
Uncle Ralph also went on to open the illest clothing store in BK at one time called what else, "Uncle Ralph's". Appropriately located on Bedford Ave. amongst other Brooklyn landmarks like Ebbets Field, Medgar Evers College, Bedford Bowl(ing alley), Empire Skating Rink (RIP) & yours truly (yep I was just 5 blocks away from some beef & brocs and a Karl Kani hoody). He would also throw Uncle Ralphs block party right on Bedford where everyone came through to perform. I had the pleasure of meeting him at a Karl Kani fashion show in Macy's Downtown Fulton through my man Jamel "Jim Kelly" and even though I saluted him with just a "peace" and a nod I was acknowledging a legend.
Still to this day when I hear
Whodini's "Five Minutes of Funk" (VMB theme song) I think of the "The Box that rocks" which still comes on (though not six days a week like before) Ch.25/22 Saturdays @ 12AM and on Fridays he hosts an old school video show "The Bridge" @ 11PM on Ch.25/22. Also listen to his radio show on Hot 97 Sundays 4 - 7PM.
So to Uncle Ralph, Vid Kid, Tuffy, Crazy Sam & Ray Dejon, I wanna say thank you.
