News: BET's News Show

The show, which airs on Sunday mornings at 11:30 EST, investigates and discusses some of the most talked about subjects in the industry in recent times, including Black Ice (crystal meth) within the African-American communities, the UK Grime movement, the Black Surfer's Association, and their latest show on Snitchology titled "Season of the Snitch," among others.

Produced by veteran hip-hop journalist Carlito Rodriguez, "Season of the Snitch" takes off from a number of recent cases involving such high-profile stars as Lil Kim, Busta Rhymes, and Cam'ron, all of whom refused to cooperate with investigations into violent crimes to which they were witnesses.

This "no snitching" policy has kept the murder investigations of rap stars such as Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, and Jam Master Jay unsolved to this day. As the report puts it: "The Golden Rule of the criminal class has become our generation's all-out prohibition against talking to the police."

BET's "Season of the Snitch" report delves into the roots of the black community's distrust of the police. And also notes the hip-hop generation's adoption of the Mafia's code of omerta -- and the linked belief that snitching is a "career killer" for rappers.

"Just get on the [witness] stand and the hood will label you a snitch -- plain and simple," says Junior Mafia member, Lil' Cease, who was subpoenaed in the Lil' Kim perjury trial.

Some rappers like Saigon find this attitude absurd. "Stop snitching on who? If we wasn't killin' each other, we wouldn't have anything to snitch about."

BET's news show, "The Chop Up," has been described as "a unique mix of '60 Minutes' and 'The Daily Show.'" Since debuting in late April of this year, the show's in-depth stories have ranged from an expose on diamond mining in Liberia to a re-investigation of the murder of Biggie Smalls, just to name a few.

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