So there I was in my apartment last night, finally getting around to watching Monday's DVR'd episode of Making the Band 4, when a familiar face popped up during the first commercial break. It was Cornel West, and he was actually MTV's artist of the week. MTV's artist of the week feature highlights up and coming artists during commercial breaks and in-between shows. It's highly effective — I bought M.I.A.'s album on iTunes after she was artist of the week. But are kids really going to go out and buy Cornel West's album, which consists of spoken word social and political commentary set to hip hop beats? Probably not, but according to MTV, this week's artist selection was more about honoring black history month than anything else.

When Bill Cosby's rumored hip hop album hits stores, he'll probably be hurt if he doesn't get the same treatment.

_{H/T to Racialicious for reminding me!}