Vibe.com, October 8th, 2004
The first annual VH1 Hip Hop Honors paid tribute to hip hop's 30-year history. Taped for broadcast Tuesday October 12, the show serves as the grand finale to VH1's 5-part documentary series, And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip Hop.
Co-hosted by Vivica A. Fox and MC Lyte, Hip Hop Honors kicked off with a tribute to a Run-less Run-DMC from the Beastie Boys performing "Sucker MC's." Also honored were Public Enemy, SugarHill Gang, The Rock Steady Crew, the late Tupac Shakur, KRS-One, Kool Herc, Fab 5 Freddy, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Salt-n-Pepa, and DJ Hollywood.
Though many in attendance were probably much too young to remember some of the honorees, the energy of performances from Public Enemy with the Beastie Boys and heavy-metal group Anthrax were full of youthful exuberance. In a surprise move, the show's DJ tribute mixed legends Grandmaster Flash, DJ S&S;, Doug E. Fresh and Kid Capri with the rap-rock flip-flopper Kid Rock. Even new school performances by Nas with his father Olu Dara, and the Terror Squad performing the summer anthem, "Lean Back" hyped up the crowd and the honorees alike.
Keeping new school artists to a minimum and the music's founding fathers at the forefront of the evening's event, the show came off as a heartfelt tribute to the architects of hip-hop that fans and artists alike appreciated. "I'm really happy that VH1 is finally doing something like this," said Fox before the show. "I remember roller skating to 'Rapper's Delight' and looking up to people like Queen Latifah and Salt-n-Pepa, so it's good to see people like them get their just due."
"I think it's a long time coming and it's good for the young people to see this," said Pepa. "These days, kids have it easy, so this is an awesome thing for all of the pioneers." While very few of the honorees performed themselves, the tribute performances gave the show a welcoming change of pace. Perhaps being mindful that a KRS-One performance wouldn't attract the celebrated 18-24-year-old demographic, VH1 had Fat Joe perform in honor of his Bronx brethren with KRS-One's classic dis' record "South Bronx." As Joey Crack bawled out the sing-along chorus, "South Bronx/South, South Bronx," an animated KRS-One got out of his chair and danced along with the rest of the crowd as though he was hearing his own words for the very first time.
"For me to see Fat Joe up there performing 'South Bronx,' that was surreal," KRS-One said after the performance. "But I remember graffiti writing with Joe on the train as Big Pun would be our look out, so for him to perform my music tonight was also correct culturally."
Amidst all the nostalgia of late 70's and 80's hip hop, the most touching tribute was reserved for the 90's rap star Tupac Shakur. Former label mate and fellow pioneer Hammer reminisced about Shakur as both a person and a performer. The tribute was all the more touching when Nas performed Shakur's melancholy hit "Keep Ya Head Up." As Shakur's sister, Sekywa Shakur watched from the side of the stage she could be seen mouthing her brother's words and rocking back-and-forth in admiration.
For the grand finale, The SugarHill Gang and Chic performed a medley of "Good Times," and "Rapper's Delight," proving the infamous line, "The beat don't stop until the break of dawn," was not just a line in the song, but an actual reality that has lasted for 30 years.
Check out our Photo Gallery for pictures from this event
