BY DC CUEVA
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| Love and Hip Hop: Hollywood cast |
Since the addition of a fourth city to make VH1's highest-rated franchise a year-round one every Monday, the rotation sees the newest addition of the Miami series kicking off the year in January, followed by Atlanta in Spring, the current season of Hollywood in the summer, and wrapping up with the original New York series in the winter... all, of course, starring the titans of the hip-hop and R&B world in their Hills-like drama. And in California, Brandy's brother Ray J. has been the one constant of the Hollywood series, and where Keyshia Cole and Soulja Boy have also appeared as have one of the biggest acts of the 2000's, B2K, who have recently reunited amidst BTS & boy band mania.
For Season 6 of Love & Hip-Hop Hollywood which premiered this month, the show's roll call has been changed quite a bit. A protege of Ice Cube, YoYo, is among the newbies joining the SoCal squad this season as someone who champions female empowerment in a genre where more and more women are joining the hip-hop game led by, of course, one of LHH's biggest alumni. Last Monday's episode saw her officially join the cast in her first appearance on an episode as a regular cast member, all as she threw a party that turned into a staredown between two beefing cast members: wife of rapper A1, Summer Bunni, and singer Lyrica Anderson.One of those who were watching in the background of the drama that took place at YoYo's initiation party in the Love & Hip-Hop community was someone who we last saw on Ex On The Beach earlier this year go through a breakup via a lie detector machine on the reunion, Jozea Flores. We first saw him on The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars I as one of the stars who competed on that season, then became the first of them to come onto the main show itself on Final Reckoning being partnered with cult figure Da'Vonne Rogers. Below, he shared his three seconds of fame.
Him going to YoYo's party and taking a selfie with castmate, influencer and an alum of BET's College Hill, Ray "Misster Ray" Cunningham, marked Jozea's second time on VH1 after he and Da'Vonne were spotted in the audience at the Season 10 finale of RuPaul's Drag Race two weeks before Final Reckoning began last year. And on a side note, this took place during a big week for MTV's corporate parent that may have big implications for the entertainment industry in its totality.
With Jozea and Mama Day being Big Brother alumni, this past week Viacom agreed to merge, once again, with CBS and creating the media industry's latest mega-conglomerate after both companies first aligned two decades ago, splitting up in 2006 and being brought together again by the family of Sumner Redstone, chairman of controlling shareholders National Amusements. This comes on the heels of Disney's purchase of 21st Century Fox, AT&T taking control of Time Warner Media (HBO, Turner and Warner Bros.), and NBC's parent Comcast buying British giant Sky... all as a giant called Netflix has helped alter the viewing landscape from when CBS and Viacom were last married.
If what happened with their fellow BB18 alums Natalie Negrotti and Paulie Califiore crossing over to MTV on Vendettas and Ex On The Beach was a sign of things to come, then the merger news with the two companies that held joint custody of their reality TV journey is that day and moment CBS and MTV had in mind when they decided to expand The Challenge's draft pool and whoever is out there to endure hell in paradise on EOTB to eventually just about anyone in reality land. Like any other media deal, the CBS & Viacom alliance now creates a powerhouse with programming, platforms, promotion and possibilities that will have everyone step up around the industry, while simultaneously transforming it once again.
A reporter who follows MTV closely, US Weekly's Emily Longeretta, brought up one of those possibilities of more alumni from Survivor and The Amazing Race, plus the islanders of Love Island USA, joining Big Brother houseguests on The Challenge, and vice versa at the Eye. Cord-cutters may rejoice at these shows being available to stream on CBS All-Access if they want to pony up $6 a month, or save up and binge for free on Pluto TV (like they will when an all-Challenge channel debuts with War of the Worlds II in two weeks). We could see the same CBS reality shows air encores or their after shows on MTV, among other things that are now possible with this union... just part of Viacom and CBS kissing & making up in time for a new challenge awaiting the two companies.
- I AM DC
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