The critics speak!

Nowadays we don't repair to Sardi's to await reviews from the critics. We just ramble through the web.

The comments on MTV2's Hip Hop Squares have been mostly favorable. In fact, the reviews have occasionally turned downright gushy. You could imagine some of them in blurbs on promos. "A wildly entertaining and extremely breezy half hour of comedy" (Entertainment Weekly). "A great look for the music and the culture" (DrJays). [Hip hop's got culture?] "Equal parts shtick and swagger, with an atmosphere of antics that is nostalgically reminiscent of the timeless original, Hip-Hop Squares doesn't disappoint" (The Root).

Naturally, not everybody was so hip happy with the hip hoppy. Aaron the weekly game show blogger turned two thumbs down: "It was just...bad. It failed to be hip or funny or edgy or whatever, but it also failed to be a Game Show Garbage – worthy disaster. It was just...bad and forgettable." My own review, a couple entries ago, voiced relief that MTV2 hadn't trashed the format. You might call the review lukewarm, or maybe a tad better.

The only reviews that literally count, of course, come from The Nielsen Company. So far they like the show, so who cares about picky little naysayers? Even cutesie-pie Kat Graham, a celeb on the first episode, sounded relieved: "It was really fun. There were artists like Biz Markie and Ghostface Killah and there I was, this pop girl coming in. I didn't know if it would be cool or if they'd be nice to me and steamroll over my answers since I was the only girl. But they were so respectful."

What's the world coming to? Respectful hip hoppers?