Thursday, June 14, 2012

A Classic Reborn: Hip Hop Squares (2012)

Yo! These ain't your parents' Hollywood Squares. Not even close, dawg.

MTV2 has found a means to revive the classic game, but with a heavy dose of street attitude, under the title, Hip Hop Squares, with new episodes premiering on Tuesdays at 11 pm (ET), with reruns sprinkled during the rest of the week. NYC DJ Peter Rosenberg is the host, and while he's got some big shoes to fill with this latest revamp of an iconic franchise from the 60's & 70's, he keeps everything as lively as possible. As the title implies, the panel consists mostly of rap artists and DJ's, plus a few comedians.

Edit, 3/29/22: The video was privatized. In its place is a sample clip from when the series moved to VH1, and changed hosts to DeRay Davis:

 

Given that MTV2 isn't in as many homes as MTV itself, I believe episodes will be made available On Demand, if that hasn't happened already, as the series has been on the air for a month now. If you're a serious Squares fan from way back, I think you'll dig it. It would help, though, if MTV got in on the act and helped by doing some repurposing to call attention to the show. After all, what's a big brother there for, anyway? 

 Rating: A.

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