Music 360: BET gives 'Rap City' the heave-ho

The beat is ending at BET's "Rap City," the longrunning video program that finally helped vault hip-hop music into the popular mainstream.

The network confirmed Wednesday it will replace "Rap City" with a new show, "The Deal," starting Nov. 10.

A farewell episode is planned for "Rap City," which launched in September 1989. There was speculation yesterday it could run Oct. 29, but a network source said no date has been set.

While "Rap City" has drifted over the last three years, frequently changing hosts and time slots, it remains one of the media pillars on which rap's current popularity was built.

We say, hip-hop is dead. Hallelu-Yah!