Peter Dougherty, co-creator of MTV’s first hip-hop show Yo! MTV Raps, has passed away, according to the New York Times. He reportedly died of a heart attack. He was 59-years-old.
Dougherty worked in the on-air promotions department at MTV during the 1980s, a time where the network did not pay much attention to black music. He, along with colleague Ted Demme, pushed to shoot a pilot for a rap music show. In August 1988, Yo! MTV Raps premiered and went on to become the highest rated show in MTV’s history.
In 1990, Dougherty transferred to MTV Europe in 1990 but returned to the states in the mid-2000s.
He is survived by his brother, mother, sister, a son and a daughter.