Thug Life Army

VH1 explores and celebrates the achievements and advancements of African-Americans during the month of February with an array of original documentaries and specials including "Ego Trip's Race-O-Rama," "Black In The 80s," "Driven: Nas," "The Fabulous of Lil'' Jon" and the network premiere of "8 Mile."

Ego Trip's Race-O-Rama February 21-23 @ 9 PM*

Ready, Set Go!. Once again, Ego Trip and VH1 gives viewers an irreverent look at race in pop culture. As a follow-up to TV's Illest Minority Moments, Race-O-Rama goes one step further, asking questions that very few people have had the nerve to ask before like "why do people date interracially?" "what are some of the extremes white people go to for acceptance in black culture? and "why do some people get nervous when there's more than one black person around?" "Ego Trip's Race-O-Rama" is executive produced by Michael Hirschorn and Jim Ackerman

Hour One: Dude, Where's My Ghetto Pass? - Premieres 2/21 - Explores white people's obsession with all things black.

Hour Two: Blackaphobia! -- Premieres 2/22 - Asks how much longer can black people be stereotyped as the toughest, most intimidating minority in America?

Hour Three: In Race We Lust -- Premieres 2/23 - Looks at the world of interracial dating, love, and offspring.

Black in the 80s -- February 1-3 @ 9 PM*

A three-part documentary series that takes viewers on a historical journey into the roles African-Americans played in shaping in changing the landscape of American popular culture. "Black in the ''80s" is executive produced by Meredith Ross.

     *All times are ET/PT.

Hour One: Color TV -- Premieres 2/1 - The first hour looks at African American influence on television broadcasting during the 1980s from their early roles as the friendly maid (Nell Carter in "Give Me A Break"), the cute black kid (Emmanuel Lewis in "Webster") to the strange and unusual (Mr. T in "The A-Team").

Hour Two: Sepia Tones -- Premieres 2/2 - On the heels of the 70's Blaxploitation era, major studios continued to give a limited view of African- American life through film. This hour examines if these roles/movies transcended or perpetuated existing stereotypes, spoke to a generation, kept us laughing or ignited some to take the black cinema experience into their own hands-by any means necessary.

Hour Three: Def Jams -- Premieres 2/3 - This hour explores the evolution of black music in the 1980's, which experienced nothing less than a renaissance during this time. From the unmitigated success of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and the rise of a new generation of Black pop stars like Whitney, Tina, Lionel, and Janet, to the ascendancy of rap and hip hop culture - this was the decade when black musicians reinvented themselves, took advantage of MTV's new avenues of exposure and made inroads into mainstream white culture like never before.

Driven: Nas -- Premiering Feb 9 @ 9 PM*

Through staggering highs and lows in his professional life, Nas, whose real name is Nasir Jones, has put together an incredible 14-year hip hop career that has awed his critics and inspired a new generation of rappers. Driven: Nas explores the life of the son of an aspiring jazz musician and a hardworking postal worker who by age four was a self-taught trumpeter, shocking his father and the neighborhood by performing on the local street corner with his father's middle-aged friends. His story is told trough exclusive personal accounts from friends and family including his father Olu Dara, Q-Tip, DJ Premier, Don Ienner President of Sony Music, MC Serch, hip hop journalist Kevin Powell, AZ , DJ Red Alert and his brother Jungle. "Driven: Nas" is executive produced by Suzanne Ross.

The Fabulous Life of: Lil'' Jon - Premiering Feb 17 @ 11 PM*

Can you say Yeeeeaah! ? You would if you live the fabulous life Lil'' Jon style. "The Fabulous Life of: Lil'' Jon" is executive produced by Matt Hanna.

8 Mile Premiering February 18 @ 9 PM*

The first network premiere of the Academy Award-winning film starring hip-hop superstar Eminem.

     Other series and specials to air during the month include:

     VH1 Classic In Concert: Soul to Soul

     A Ray Charles Tribute Concert

     Driven: Tupac Shakur

     Behind The Music: Notorious B.I.G.

     Behind the Music: Bob Marley

     Movies that Rock: The Jacksons: An American Dream

     Movies That Rock: The Temptations

     Ultimate Albums: Run DMC

     Driven: Janet Jackson

     Wendy Williams Red Carpet

     Behind The Music: TLC

     (Inside) Out: Toni Braxton

     Driven: Brandy

     Driven: Usher

     Movies That Rock: Hendrix

     Ultimate Albums: Alicia Keys

     Behind The Music: Dr. Dre

     Ultimate Albums: Nelly

     Driven: Snoop;

     Fab Life: Missy Elliot

     Driven: Whitney Houston

     Driven: Outkast

      (Inside) Out James Brown

     Driven: Beyonce

Viewers can log on http://www.vh1.com/  to find Artist interviews, key Moments timeline, photo flipbooks, artist tributes, and more on all their favorite black artists.

The entire VH1 family including the VH1 Radio Network, VH1 Satellite Radio, VH1.com, VH1 Classic and VH1 Soul will join in the celebration of Black History Month.

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in over 87 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, VH Uno, VH1 Mega Hits and VH1 Country. Connect with VH1 at www.VH1.com .