NEW YORK, NY. (VH1) - After months of anticipation and the promise of great expectations, The Second Annual VH1 Hip Hop Honors, taped in New York's Hammerstein Ballroom on
Thursday night for air on Monday,
September 26 at *9:00 PM/ET, more than lived up to its hype.
The annual broadcast, hosted this year by the impressive duo of brothers Russell Simmons and Reverend Run, got off to a hip hopping start when Grammy award winner Nelly took to the stage in full old school regalia of Puma sweat suit and KangoL hat to pay homage to honoree LL Cool J with a performance of the honoree's popular hit, "I'm Bad." The sultry Ciara came out "Jinglin' Baby" and "Doin It" with Nelly while LL Cool J proved why Ladies really Love Cool J. The sexy actor/rapper, donned momentarily in funky designer sweats and KangoL, performed a powerful rendition of his award winning "Momma Said Knock You Out," bare-chested.
The West Coast represented and kept it rockin' as honoree Ice T, joined by "homie" Snoop Dogg, performed a medley of the Law and Order SUV actor's hits, "Six N The Morning," "Original Gangster," "New Jack Hustler," and "Colors." The "original gangster," who once spewed unpalatable lyrics about the police and now plays one on television sums up his ironic career path simply as "being the ultimate pimp and playing the pimp game at its finest."
Honoree Grand Master Flash, joined by DJs Jazzy Jeff and Kid Capri gave a lesson in "scratchology" as they played a version of musical chairs with turntables. The hot act continued with Fat Joe, DF Disco B and Dr EZ Mike joining Flash and The Furious Five to perform their hits "Frisco Disco," "Goodtimes," "Seven Minutes of Funk," and the party rockin' "Dance to the Beat."
If it seemed hip hop was all about the fellas, that opinion quickly changed when a feminine brigade brought pulchritude to the stage. The vivacious Eve, followed by the curvaceous Queen Latifah paid tribute to honorees Salt N Pepa and the sexy trio wasted no time getting temperatures rising. They set off the reunion of the night as they joined the original members of En Vogue for the girl groups' first ever-public performance of their respective 1993 chart- topping hit, "Whatta Man," backed by The Roots. The sensual number firmly heightened the testosterone levels and gave new meaning to hip-hop.
Among the evening's seismic performances were humorous outtakes from the brothers Simmons' promo shoot, a dance party performance by It rapper Kanye West of his popular "Golddigger," and a solid tribute, presented by Spike Lee to honoree John Singleton's revolutionary film, "Boyz N The Hood." Actress Nia Long, presenter and one of the stars of the 1991 film, was overheard asking a sheepish Singleton why he had not cast her in any of his other films since.
Without peer, the prodigious performance of the night belonged to honoree and original hip hop playboy, Big Daddy Kane. With a little help from DJ Biz Markie and The Roots, and performances of his hits from T.I., "Smooth Operator," Common, "Raw," and Tarik, "Set It Off," Kane exploded onto the stage with his two original dancers, Scoob & Scrap to give an electrifying performance of his "Warm It Up." Truly reminiscent of what hip hop once was, Kane and his dancers brought old school hip hop dance moves back to life with flips and splits that worked the crowd into a frenzy, garnered an enthusiastic standing ovation from his fellow honorees, and left the audience wanting more, as a true play boy often does.
The evening ended with a moving tribute to the late Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace from Diddy and performances of his songs "A Dream," by former wife, Faith Evans and Ludracris, "One More Chance," by Faith and Lil Cease, and "Hypnotize," from Kanye West and a forty-member gospel choir. Mrs. Voletta Wallace, mother of the late rapper proudly proclaimed her favorite "Biggie" tune to be "One More Chance," because everyone, she felt, "deserves that much." His young son, Christopher, Jr. simply offered, "My Dad was a legend; I love him."
Last year, VH1's inaugural show honored DJ Kool Herc, DJ Hollywood, KRS- One, Public Enemy, Rock Steady Crew, Run DMC, Sugarhill Gang, Tupac Shakur and The Graffiti Movement and featured performances by Kid Rock, Fat Joe and Terror Squad, Nas, Beastie Boys, Anthrax, MC Hammer and Grandmaster Flash, Public Enemy, Sugarhill Gang, Chic, Doug E. Fresh and Kid Capri and appearances by Ice T, Method Man, Salt-n-Pepa, Roselyn Sanchez, Taye Diggs, Reverend Al Sharpton, James Brown and Debbie Harry.
VH1 "Get Up Stand Up," in collaboration with Mercy Corps, will help carry out short term and long term Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The campaign kicked-off at VH1's 2nd Annual "VH1 Hip Hop Honors." Donations were collected during the "VH1 Hip Hop Honors" red carpet and artists dropped off specified relief items at a 68-foot trailer that was stationed outside of the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.
"VH1 Hip Hop Honors" is sponsored by T-Mobile, USA; Taco Bell(R) Corp; "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," a Paramount Pictures presentation of an Interscope/Shady/Aftermath and MTV Films production and Ask Jeeves. Go now to vh1.com for artist and music information and check soon for interactive honoree profiles, exclusive programming, show information and more.
"VH1 Hip Hop Honors" are executive produced by Lee Rolontz for VH1 and Jac Benson for Blacjac Entertainment. Louis J. Horvitz will direct. Nelson George and Fab 5 Freddy are consulting producers.
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