Over the 20 or so years they've coexisted, rappers and reality TV have had a pretty great relationship. "Flavor of Love" is still one of the most popular reality programs of all-time, more people know Xzibit for "Pimp My Ride" than his appearances on Dr. Dre's 2001 (and even less for his solo music), and even short-lived flops like Three 6 Mafia's "Adventures In Hollyhood" still attracted cult followings. This week, we got word that The Game will soon be starring in a VH1 dating show called "She's Got Game," so it's clear that, despite whatever Nelly's doing to destroy his chance for future "Nellyville" seasons, rapper-hosted reality shows are still going strong.
For this feature, we've imagined ten shows starring our favorite rappers that we'd like to see in the future. Some are reboots of old shows, some are spinoffs of existing ones, and some are completely original. If you've got any ideas for shows of your own, share them in the comments.
Wap Of Love: In Search Of A Trap Queen
Carrying on the legacy of Bret Michaels and Flavor Flav's respective dating shows, Fetty Wap would play host to 20 women vying to be his "Trap Queen." As you'll remember, these shows have the contestants compete in various challenges, and so for "Wap Of Love," the tasks would be chosen from "Trap Queen" lyrics. For instance:
Who has the prettiest ass?
A pole dance-off.
A pie-cooking contest.
Whose bands go the furthest?
And most importantly: who is the highest, flyest and "ride or die"-est?
Now That's Ludacris!
This is based on a campaign Luda's been running on his Instagram, but it'd be reimagined as an "America's Funniest Home Videos" hosted by the man himself. Fans would grade each viral video on how ludicrous it is. Here are some examples of the campaign:
This would be a reboot of the MTV show that aired in the late '90s, but with one catch: contestants can only sing along to Young Thug songs. Thugger would have to host, as he's often the only one who knows the true words to songs that would be futile for Genius contributors to even attempt to transcribe.
We'd nominate actress Tracee Ellis Ross as a contestant on the first episode to give her a second shot at singing "Lifestyle" correctly. For a sneak preview of what the show might look like, watch the video below:
Weed Country: TGOD Edition
Taylor Gang's bud game is strong, even when compared to other THC-friendly rap crews. Berner created one of the most popular strains of weed in the country (Girl scout cookies), Juciy J's named mixtapes after another strain (Blue dream), and we don't have to remind you how fond Wiz Khalifa is of the substance. It'd be fitting, then, to see a new spinoff from Discovery Channel's "Weed Country" that's devoted to their cultivation, use and celebration of pot.
The original show, set in the fertile Humboldt Country, California, follows both growers and law enforcement. For the TGOD edition, we'd roam from Berner's native Bay Area to Wiz's home-away-from-Black-and-Yellow-country, L.A., following the crew in their weed-related exploits.
Making The Bando
Quality Control label head Coach K is tasked with making a supergroup out of his signees. Juggling the talents and personalities of Quavo, Offset, Takeoff, Rich The Kid, OG Maco, Skippa Da Flippa, Jose Guapo and Johnny Cinco, he follows in Diddy's footsteps in a reboot of the original MTV show.
Challenges include getting everyone to hone their own, unique ad-libs, trying to break everyone's habit of rapping in triplets, and getting each rapper to agree on a new name for the supergroup so the proper, customized chains can be manufactured. This would culminate in a worldwide tour and an album, so it'd be profitable for all involved.
Thank You Based God
A family is having problems with an unruly child. A couple's having infidelity issues. A man is trying to connect with his long-lost brother. No matter the domestic problem, the Based God can solve it. This show would have Lil B assuming a Dr. Phil-esque role and counseling people through their various disputes while dropping knowledge and philosophy left and right.
At this point, he's lectured at MIT and NYU, so he's pretty accomplished in motivational speaking, and his Twitter presence is always a source of uplifting solutions to universal problems (for instance, energy saving). With his positive attitude, kindness and open mind, Based God would be the ideal TV personality to take the torch from Dr. Phil and host a whole new generation of troubled families.
Buck Dynasty
50 Cent often seems too occupied with other ventures (SMS Audio, "Power," Effen Vodka, etc.) to hang out with his G-Unit crewmates. Who takes charge when Fif's away? Young Buck. Following the Unit under Buck's lead, this show would give us a behind-the-scenes look at one of NYC's most prominent squads, and all of the drama that goes along with them.
We'd see Kidd Kidd get hazed by the veterans, longwinded debates about who or what is "sus" and of course, power struggles to unseat Fiddy and/or undermine the other members. These guys' reunion involved a chain-snatching incident-- they're petty as hell, which makes for great reality TV.
Dancing With The 5 Star
Birdman plays host to the world's premier dancers, who take turns teaching him their moves. He signs the most promising ones to his new management company (his answer to Jay Z's Roc Nation exploits), gets them to choreograph routines for him, and then uses a loophole in their contracts to exploit them for personal gain.
Paralleling his career at Cash Money, "Dancing With The 5 Star" would see Stunna shifting his attention to the world of performance art, in an effort to both get in better shape and capitalize on another form of entertainment (*hand rub*). Each episode would culminate with the dance equivalent to Like Father Like Son: the younger, more skilled artist "ghostwrites" routines for Birdman but still ends up outshining him.
Rap Game Shark Tank
Hosted by the three highest earners in hip hop: Dr. Dre, Jay Z and Diddy, this would just be a spinoff of the highly successful ABC show. Aspiring hip hop entrepreneurs would pitch ideas that they're looking to fund, whether it be a streaming service, new label, TV show, or online publication, and the three cash kings of the rap game would respond accordingly.
Of course, this show would attract struggle rappers galore, but any attempt to market one's own music would be strictly prohibited. This show would be mutually beneficial for everyone involved, as the "Sharks" could strengthen their already-existing empires, the contestants would have a chance to make it big in the rap world, and viewers would get an inside look into ventures that could end up leading us into the future of hip-hop.
Keeping Up With Kanye
After So Help Me God becomes Kanye's poorest-received album, he gets desperate. Finally seeing the artistic value in reality TV, he asks Kim for a "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" spinoff. She tells him that French Montana has already been pursuing this for years, but she ends up convincing the network that Kanye's would be much more popular.
Kanye takes on the job, but almost immediately becomes conflicted about his newfound openness on television. He struggles with having cameramen around all the time, rarely smiles on-air, and his rants begin to take on a darker tone. Eventually, Rick Rubin convinces him to make the show a running commentary on celebrity culture in America, with Kanye beginning to play a caricature of himself in order to show the hypocrisy and lies at play in reality television.
The show doesn't perform very well, but it becomes a huge critical success, and West sweeps the Emmys. Jealous and embittered by his fake persona (and not understanding that it's fake), Kim eventually divorces him and the network drops the show to save face. His next album is called R.E.A.L.I.T.Y. (Raw Energy Adonis, Lucifer Infiltrates The Youth) and is hailed as his best work yet.