Before the days when fans could follow every nuanced move made and word uttered by their favorite celebrities on social media, people tuned in to VH1’s hit docu-series Behind The Music.
The show debuted in 1997 with the headline-making story of disgraced R&B duo Milli Vanilli and ran on and off for 15 seasons until 2014. Each week, viewers tuned in for intimate insights into the careers and personal lives of their favorite musical artists. Who can forget the emotional 2010 episode of Behind The Music when DMX confessed to drinking his mother’s perfume?
“She had a tray of perfume and I drunk some because it smelled good, but it was disgusting…I was that hungry,” the “Slippin'” rapper shared during his confessional.
This Thursday (July 29), after a years-long hiatus, the series returns with all-new episodes exclusively on Paramount+. The back-to-back debut episodes will feature Latin superstar Ricky Martin and hip-hop icon LL Cool J with subsequent episodes dropping each Thursday.
Other upcoming artists include the multihyphenate talent Jennifer Lopez, and rap legends Busta Rhymes and Fat Joe, whose Sept. 9 episode will close out the season.
A newbie to the series, Fat Joe opened up about his experience examining his own life through the lens of the show. “I’d never seen in my life,” the 50-year-old shared with USA TODAY.
The “All The Way Up” rapper explained that watching the finished episode, specifically segments about his close friend the late Big Pun, was unexpectedly difficult.
“I got choked up and emotional. It’s weird because it’s almost like that’s what they want you to do and you don’t want to give it to them. Like Fat Joe, he’s the tough guy,” admitted the Bronx native. “But I didn’t even realize I’d cried until I watched it. Every time I talk about [Big Pun], it hurts me.”
In addition to the new episodes, Paramount+ will also include a backlog of the best of the original series vault remastered and updated with new one-on-one interviews with artists. The inaugural version of Behind The Music included backstories on some of the biggest stars in hip-hop and R&B, including Diddy, Ice Cube, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Mariah Carey, Mary J Blige, Nas, Nelly, Run DMC, Salt-N-Pepa, T.I., and Usher.
Watch the trailer for the new season of Behind The Music below: