Killer Mike: On Ronald Reagan And Raising Daughters

BET's Commercial vs. Community Interests

BET's Commercial vs. Community Interests:

Questions Linger After Killer Mike Ban

by Janell Ross | HuffPost BlackVoices

July was supposed to be a busy month for Michael Render, aka Killer Mike, aka Mike Bigga.

His second national appearance as mentor to a want-to-be rapper would air on MTV's "Made." And before he left the country for a European concert tour, he had all sorts of promotional appearances for "Burn," a politically-charged single from Render's latest album, "PL3DGE." But that kind of pop-star schedule didn't even include the biggest thing to happen to Render in July.

Before the month was over, Black Entertainment Television (BET) would refuse to air the "Burn" video for what the channel described as violent and "convoluted" content. "Burn" voices a musical cornucopia of post-recession frustrations ranging from elevated joblessness and home foreclosures, to corrupt civic and religious organizations, the bank bail-out and police brutality. The network's decision to ban the video reignited a long-running debate about the politics, place and purpose of the 31-year-old network and made BET the target of what can best be described as a 21st-century mob.

On Twitter, Facebook and in the comments section of several Web sites, people openly critiqued not just the decision to ban Killer Mike's "Burn" video, but also an alleged double standard at work at BET. BET embargoed what several people described as a timely social critique while at the same time airing videos and reality shows that tacitly endorse stereotypes, and feature nearly-naked women and staged acts of violence.

By the month's end, BET reversed its decision, announcing on Twitter that the ban on "Burn" had been lifted. (The video has not aired on BET as of this writing.) What happened with Render's video highlights just how BET has evolved and, some might say, not quite resolved a conflict built into the organization's foundation: Can commercial and community interests really reside harmoniously under one network's roof?

BET did not respond by deadline to requests for comment about its initial decision to ban the video or the subsequent announcement that "Burn" would be added to the network's rotation.

"OK, I'm not faulting BET for this alone," said Render, 35, from his Atlanta home. "They aren't the only network that makes room for just about any party song, mine included. But since this company professes to be a proponent, an agent of help and change for the African-American community, I think they also have a responsibility to air a voice like mine when I have something to say on behalf of the working class and the working poor."

In July, the Associated Press reported that The Great Recession has not only left the country with an overall unemployment rate above 9 percent and black unemployment approaching 20 percent but has also erased many of the economic gains made by minorities over the last 25 years.

Robert Johnson, a Princeton graduate and one-time cable industry lobbyist, founded BET in the early 1980s, right around the time that mainstream news publications first began to take note of a growing black middle class. According to Mark Anthony Neal, a professor of African and African-American studies at Duke who has written extensively about black music, culture and institutions, Johnson was able to convince cable providers to carry the network, in part, by arguing that its programming would speak to an underserved audience, African Americans. And to potential viewers Johnson sold the idea that BET was a special vehicle, a tool for community uplift; it was that rare thing: a black-owned network, "by us and for us," Neal said.

From the beginning, BET has blurred the line that tends to distinguish a business from a social service agency. That made it particularly susceptible to criticism, Neal said. CBS, NBC and HGTV are free to entertain. No one implies that the mental health, public esteem or opportunities available to every lawyer, police officer or decorator/designer rest in the programming that these networks air. But BET's critics have for years argued that the network should produce more original content, limit or ban raunchy, misogynistic and violent videos, and create opportunities for black writers, directors, actors and musicians to curate and showcase their talent.

Almost nowhere on the network was the tension between serving and uplifting the "black community" and turning a profit more clear than in the volume and content of music videos. Music videos -- unlike original programming or even syndicated series and old movies -- are financed and produced by artists and record labels. They can be aired at virtually no cost to BET.

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