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HIP HOP HONORS 2006: A Night To Remember
By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices
"Rap is what we do. Hip-Hop is what we are," pontificated veteran artist KRS-One from the stage of VH1's third 'Hip Hop Honors' celebration Saturday night at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom.
Fitting words from one of the most revered pioneers in the history of the game..
And with a motley crew of performers and personalities ranging from old-school (Big Daddy Kane) to the new (Young Jeezy), black (Remy Ma) to the Italian (Kid Capri), east coast (Talib Kweli) to the west (Xzibit), and from the obscure (Lovebug Starsky) to the ubiquitous (Diddy), a memorable evening of reverence is what it was indeed.
Throngs and throngs of hip hop fans, industry heads and celebrity notables came out to celebrate the career accomplishments of rap pioneers Afrika Bambaataa, The Beastie Boys, Ice Cube, MC Lyte, Rakim, Wu-Tang Clan, Russell Simmons and the late Eazy-E for the event many considered hip hop's equivalent to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
"This is good," OutKast member Antwan "Big Boi" Patton told The BV Newswire while making his rounds on the red carpet earlier in the evening. "This is an honor. This is really paying homage to the veterans and the pioneers and to everybody out here trying to get it done." He and his partner-in-rhyme Andre 3000 did the honors of introducing a lively and colorful tribute(which included Erykah Badu, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and Fat Joe) to Bambaataa, who's largely recognized as "The Godfather of Hip-Hop."
"It shows that we have grown," commented honoree Ice Cube -- one of the chosen few who've successfully transcended hip-hop and Hollywood throughout a near twenty-year career. "We're honoring our own and bringing some of the legends back and showing these new dudes in hip hop a little bit of their history."
Legally known as O'Shea Jackson, the west coast gangsta rap pioneer joined platinum-plated hip-hop personality/producer Lil' Jon for his new single "Steal The Show" during his homage, which also featured performances from Xzibit and WC of Westside Connection. "I'm glad that VH1 is honoring me, and Eazy-E, and Wu-Tang and Rakim, and MC Lyte and so many people out there who deserve it and it's just good that tonight is our night."
Other highlights from the show -- which will premiere Oct. 17 at 9 p.m. on VH1-- included:
-- Diddy, Fabolous, Q-Tip performing hit songs by Beastie Boys.
-- '227' star Regina King introducing the tribute to her friend MC Lyte, with performances by Yo-Yo, Lil' Kim, Remy Ma, and Da Brat.
-- Talib Kwel, Styles P and Raekwon performing Eric B & Rakim classics.
-- Mike Epps, Adele Givens and Def Poetry Jam star Black Ice paying homage to Russell Simmons
-- Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Young Jeezy and Lil' Eazy-E honoring Eazy-E
-- 'Last King of Scotland' star Forest Whitaker doing the introduction for the Wu-Tang Clan tribute, followed by performances of the group's songs by Styles P, Black Thought, Talib Kweli and Lil' Jon.
Salt N' Pepa (with Spinderella), Fab 5 Freddy, Crazy Toones, DJ Yella, DJ K-Rock, Marley Marl, Tracy Morgan, Common, Slum Village, and even nationally syndicated shock jock Wendy Williams were also in the place to be.
Make sure you check it out when it hit the airwaves.
From what I saw of the show, it looks like a real treat.
AOL Black Voices Producer Angela Bronner contributed to this report.
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i enjoyed all highlights of the show. it was fantistic. i enjoyed lytes performance and the other girls. lil kim look kind of large. but maybe it was the tv caption. how do vhi decide who will be honored for the next year. i do hope that they will be fair and reasonable when it comes to their decisions. soonner or later i would think that people would begin to wonder what the hell is really going on. and to the person who was saying that vhi is doing a good job. they are in a sense of honoring groups and individuals. but is vhi really honoring on merit or money. i think you must work for vh1 getting payola or something or just an ass. but if you are right lets see how it is handle next year i will not be writing in again just waiting for the next show
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I have read quite a few comments and I did not see anything on De La Soul, Gangstarr, Jungle Brothas, Cool G Rap and DJ Polo, and EPMD. I also agreed with various comments regarding MCs that laid the foundation like funky four + one more, Cold crush etc. But lets be real here, if we put everyone on from the beginning this tribute will get old very fast and these young kids today will never have a chance to be exposed to the foundation of hip-hop. Personally I looking for this tribute to last a long time so VH 1 keep doing your thing cause I am sure that you will eventually honor all the foundation of hip-hop eventually.
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i am from new york but has lived in l.a. fo 10 years. i think the honors was good this year far as performances. but who is making the decisons on who gets honored. i going to say it and i do not care who gets mad. i think it is all a bunch of bullshit. ice cude, rakim and ez should have been honored. they have contributed a lot to what rap is now. but when you honor someone like wu tang. do not get me wrong. they are a good group on the streets. but what have they did that no one else have. this leaves me to believe that eveybody else was used as fillers to capture the audience/dollars. i love me some mc lyte she ripped it. i visit her myspace page on a regular basis. she mentions sharock as a influence as well as salt and pepper but i was so hurt that she did not mentioned sharock on the honors. my friends and i was watching and we just knew she was going to say her name. wow. i will always luv her for her skills. but i will never buy another cd. she did not live up to what
she was suppose to as a person who claims she is for hip hop. i'm sorry -
it's funny how everyone has written in and talk about what highlights that they liked on this years honors. but i agree with some of the people have written in. although the performances from a lot of the so call old school and new school was very good. i am consider myself still young livng in new york. i use to wonder how is it that growing up in new york i have always heard that sha-rock from the funky four paved the way and laid the foundation for the hip hop culture for females to be able to glorify the rap industry and recieve the monetary gain. but when i pick up a magazine or tv. media always want to say it started with queen latifah, lil kim , lyte or salt and pepper.
why is it that media do not want to take it back. it would not be females in the rap industry if it was not for sha-rock. its not like she does not exist to her peers. trust me when i tell you they know because i hear it all the time. but do not want the youth to know. but cuz only then would it tap in to their pockets.. but that is the grimmy
part of the world that i live in. so for all you real hip hop heads that supports the true legends. stand up and nominate people like sha-rock, mary j bliege, jay z, kustis blow or ll cool j, funky four plus 1 more or some other legend for that matter.
think about. truth only will not be rewritten.
11/1/06 11:35 AM