The Fifth Annual "VH1 Hip Hop Honors"
This Year’s Celebration is said to be the best yet
Aug 14, 2008
VH1’s “Hip-Hop Honors”
Hosted by Tracy Morgan, who also hosted last year’s event, the affair will celebrate the hip-hop hit maker’s respective hey day and their impact on popular culture.
“Now in its fifth year, the ‘VH1 Hip Hop Honors’ has come to represent the pinnacle of innovation and achievement in hip-hop music.” Said Tom Calderone, Executive Vice President and General Manager of VH1. “This year’s five honorees are no different and are being recognized for their significant contributions to hip-hop culture and for helping to elevate hip-hop into a truly global phenomenon.”
VH1’s Hip-Hop Honorees
Cypress Hill: Cypress Hill was one of the first groups to successfully bridge the gap between rap and rock. Using their tricky rhyme style, the group, headed by B-Real, was also one of the first to present the game from a Latino perspective. They are the first Latino group to have platinum and multi-platinum records.
De La Soul: This Grammy Award winning act virtually invented the “back pack clique.” Their playful, quick witted, quasi-socially conscious style is best exhibited in their hit single “Me, Myself, and I.” Their debut album, “3 Feet High and Rising,” is widely considered a hip-hop classic.
Naughty By Nature: There aren’t many people who don’t know the words to their mega hits “Hip Hop Hooray” and “O.P.P.” This New Jersey trio was able to mix front man Treach’s gritty edge with pop like sounds to create two of the best hip-hop anthems of all time.
Slick Rick: The undisputed inventor of hip-hop story telling, Slick Rick’s eye patch and “dookie” gold chains have become synonymous with hip-hop history. Before the great storytellers of the modern movement (i.e. Nas and Andre 3000 of Outkast) were out of diapers, Slick Rick was telling fans about “The Art of Storytelling.” His songs “Mona Lisa,” “Teenage Love,” “Children’s Story,” and “Hey Young World” are considered some of the best songs in hip-hop history.
Too $hort: This Oakland, California native’s short stature is a physical contradiction of his overwhelming abundance of “swagger.” A self made man, like many of hip-hop’s greats, $hort kick started his career in the 80s selling 12-inch singles of his explicit, yet ironically entertaining music. From his 1983 debut “Don’t Stop Rappin’” to his most recent release “After Party” $hort has cemented himself in the game as one of the most freakishly clever MCs ever.
“VH1 Hip Hop Honors” is set to premiere on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 10 p.m.
