VH1 teamed up with acclaimed filmmakers Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman and famed author and record executive Steve Stoute for a 4-part documentary series based on Stoute's best-selling book, The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy. VH1's The Tanning of America: One Nation Under Hip Hop is a thorough examination of hip-hop as a cultural movement, whose profound influence in music, film, television, fashion, business, race relations and politics eventually paved the way for the election of Barack Obama. Stoute notes, “Since its birth, hip-hop has been a reflection of black America, but never before have we seen it cast as such a far-reaching agent of political change. This film paints an entirely new picture of the impact of hip-hop culture over the last 30 years.” The 4-part 4-hour series premieres Monday, February 24, 2014 on VH1.
VH1's The Tanning of America: One Nation Under Hip Hop provides a visual history of the hip-hopification of America — what Stoute calls “tanning" — from The Jeffersons to the Fresh Prince; from Do the Right Thing to 8 Mile; from the streets of Compton to Madison Ave; and rappers turned into entrepreneurs and icons. The series unfolds in 4 one-hour episodes that together explore history's pivotal “tanning” moments from the 1970s to present day, and how deep hip-hop is woven into the American cultural fabric. It's the history of hip-hop remixed: an epic journey that begins in the Bronx and travels all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
VH1's The Tanning of America: One Nation Under Hip Hop features never-seen-before footage and interviews from numerous pop culture icons and entertainment personalities in America: Sean “Diddy” Combs, Dr. Dre, Mariah Carey, Will.i.am, Russell Simmons, Pharrell, Nas, Reverend Run, Rick Rubin, Fab 5 Freddy, Jimmy Iovine, Al Sharpton, Cory Booker, Brett Ratner, Brian Grazer, Tommy Hilfiger, Ron Howard, Steve Stoute and many more.