Sophomore journalism major Nydja Hood felt that hip-hop culture needed a home on Temple TV.
With her new TV show “The Vibe,” she aims to bring hip-hop music and black culture to the forefront of the university’s television network.
“The Vibe” is a hip-hop culture and music program set to air on TUTV. Each half-hour-long episode will feature a different artist, poet or rapper, along with hip-hop news and entertainment discussions.
The first episode was filmed late last semester and is currently available on YouTube.
“Unlike other shows at Temple, we have live performances and discuss black and hip-hop culture,” Hood said.
The show is meant to appeal to creative students on campus, which Hood said she can relate to. She said her show represents a part of that community.
“I know what I would want to see and what other people interested in hip-hop culture and in the arts would want to see,” Hood said.
The show came about when Hood got producer Jane Babian, a senior journalism major, and director Josh Cimbol, a junior media studies and production major, to join the crew and help run the program with her.
“This show is totally her creation,” Babian said. “I was hooked when she explained her vision of the show to me. It’s a show aimed at allowing black and urban artists to show their talents off to the world.”
“There’s something very special and passionate about that—I’m thrilled to be a part of something so inspirational,” she added.
Cimbol said he is glad the show was well received.
“Seeing our in-studio audience so excited about what we were doing and seeing the resulting social media activity made me realize how important this show was,” he said. “We added something special to the TUTV lineup.”
The core idea behind the show took some time to mold amongst the crew, as each member of the team had varying levels of knowledge in hip-hop. But they each had something to offer to help make the show a reality, Hood said.
“I like how it was really give and take,” she said. “From [Cimbol], I was learning about behind-the-scenes aspects like how to direct and run a television show, and he learned from me about hip-hop and black culture.”
In addition to exploring her interests, Hood also sees the program as being a platform for her own career ambitions in media.
“I’ve done different things on campus journalism-related, but I wanted to create a niche for myself that kind of showcased my personal interests,” she said. “By creating the show, I can combine aspects of journalism and what I’m personally interested in.”
The program has set its agenda, and now Hood and her crew are currently in talks with TUTV to provide their program with consistent airtime.
“The biggest challenge right now is, when do we start taking the next step to plan our next episode?” Hood said. “After the first episode was shot, the word spread so fast and so many people wanted to get involved and perform, so it was hard to step back and take it in stride.”
While Hood and her crew are still unsure about the exact future of the program, Hood is happy with how things have been going and wants to see “The Vibe” succeed.
“It’s a creative movement that will change the face of TUTV,” Hood said.
Joshua Zimmerman can be reached at joshua.zimmerman0001@temple.edu.
Editor’s Note: Nydja Hood and Jane Babian are former freelance writers for The Temple News. Neither contributed in the editing process of this article.
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