Notes from the VH1 Hip-Hop Honors
By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García
I watched the Hip-Hop Honors pay tribute to Def Jam Records for the same reason I bought the Def Jam anniversary box set: sometimes you just need some old school, right? Here’s some scattered thoughts:
* Tracy Morgan couldn’t have been less appealing if the SNL writers had scripted his material. What are the odds some PA was sent to Chris Rock’s balcony seat to quietly beg for him to step in?
* Speaking of comedy, no screen-time or acknowledgement for Def Comedy or Def Poetry Jam? Sad.
* Drinking game of the night: take a shot every time a rapper-slash-actor appeared: L.L. Cool J, Ludacris, Ashanti, Eminem, Redman, Method Man, Sticky Fingaz from Onyx and DMX would’ve given you … well, more than a buzz. Flavor Flav, of course, was worth a bottle.
* If there was a mention of Shakir Stewart, it must’ve been in the credits.
* Kid Rock likes hip-hop again? Did the National Guard money run out?
* Getting The Roots & DJ Jazzy Jeff to anchor the bigger numbers was a solid move. And go fig, Gym Class Heroes didn’t botch things up, either.
* Line of the night was definitely from ex-Def Jam Island Music Group head Lyor Cohen, on making the label an Aamco-like “blue-collar” alternative for their artists: “You think Death Row, with their swollen muscles, can squeeze underneath that car; or Bad Boy, with their shiny Versace suits, are gonna risk getting some oil dripped on them?”
* “Regulate” without Nate Dogg … sorry, Trey, just too much for you to live up to.
* Admit it, we all wanted to see Ja Rule rock the cardigan again.
* The show-closing medley hit an Epic Fail trifecta: Flat, Abrupt and How do you not get Jay-Z to close it out after all the ads for the new album, and Russell Simmons talks about him preserving Def Jam’s “foundation” in the final interview? Any fan could’ve given them this simple two-step alternative to Wale muffing a Kanye West riff:
1) Trash the medley and give the time up for full versions of “You Gots To Chill” and “The Rain.”
2) Close the show with the Public Enemy/Street Sweeper Social Club number posted up top. Their assault on “Rebel Without A Pause” brought home the point of Def Jam’s early artistic ferocity more than the interviews we saw during the show. Except for Lyor Cohen, of course.
* One final note: as you might imagine, we got a lot more of self-congratulation than self-analysis from the various Def Jam figures who appeared during the show, but these (slightly nsfw) comments from KRS-One below might ring more true than Cohen or Russell Simmons or Rick Rubin might want to admit:
So, anybody else catch the show? What did you think?
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Chris wrote:
Offtopic, but I sorta hated that National Guard commercial because of one lyric: “I’m giving all of myself, how about you?”
Seriously, Kid Rock? I am currently in the service, and last I checked long hair and goatees didn’t fly as far as regulations are concerned.
That recruiting campaign as a whole just gets under my skin, with chants of “freedom isn’t free” — ie. sign your life away so rock star millionaires like myself can enjoy the freedoms you’ll be willing to die for — and the implication that the only way to give back to your country is through military service.
Granted, it’s one way to contribute to the safety and stability of your country, but you can also teach and volunteer and organize and become doctors, nurses, research scientists and engineers and do a whole host of other things to help your community and your country as well.
Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 9:44 am ¶
Seattle Slim wrote:
I didn’t like it. This is sad for me because I was a true Def Jam stan. I thought they had some of the best rappers, or were affiliated with some of the best rappers of all time. They still are (LL Cool J, Beasties, et al). However, I thought that it was slightly disingenous given the current state Def Jam is in among other things.
Highlights were MJB and Mr. Meth, Rick Ross (I did like Hustlin’), Gym Class Heroes (hello hot ass Travis McCoy)…
I was irritated at Foxy. Fabolous tried, but couldn’t. Trey botched the song, IMO. Ja Rule and Ashanti brought back good (being young and nubile pre-kiddies in Hawaii), and not so good memories (they were overexposed).
I hope they do better next year.
P.S. Yes, I wish they would’ve paid better homage to Shakir. People are way too ashamed to discuss suicides, and that’s not okay.
Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 9:56 am ¶
Seattle Slim wrote:
@Chris,
I agree. I’m a vet, and I seriously could never stand commercials to join the service. I don’t know, they always irked me for the same reasons you mentioned. Kid Rock, I hardly paid attention to. I know people can do several kinds of music, and he’s cool for that, but he just seems, fake at times. I can’t put my finger on it.
The only commercials/ad campaigns that I think are dead on are for the Marines. They don’t kid you on how hard and “on point” you have to be. I was part of an Marine Corps JROTC in high school, and worked closely with the Marines. Their commercials are about the only ones that seem to be really honest.
Army ones make our lives look like they are a lot easier than they really are.
Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 10:00 am ¶
Nappy Mind wrote:
I saw the show and wondered why LL Cool J and Jay Z didn’t perform.
Professor Griff looked uncomfortable with Public Enemy but I was glad to see him. I was also glad to see EPMD. I liked Redman and Method Man and Mary J and Method Man. The
Tracy Morgan’s skits were not funny.
I also missed the mention of Def Comedy Jam and Def Poetry Jam. Even Phat Farm was a significant offshot of the Def Jam movement as it was one of the first hip hop clothing lines and is still one of the most successful.
Posted 17 Oct 2009 at 1:54 pm ¶
CDF wrote:
I don’t bother with those VH1 HipHop Honor shows anymore.
Posted 20 Oct 2009 at 12:18 pm ¶
Keith wrote:
KRS1 is half right, when clear channel one took over the concert industry by buying up a huge percentage of radio stations in local markets, they pretty much began dictating which artists will get air play. They practically gave the 2000 presidency to bush and supported the war in Iraq, so anything thought provoking or controversial will not get played on mainstream radio.
Posted 21 Oct 2009 at 1:32 am ¶
Tania wrote:
Hated It! The Old Skool rap series at the local clubs are better than what I saw on the show.
As someone who was in high school in the mid to late 80’s the hip hop/rap that I hear on the radio today, which I try to listen to as little as possible, is very disturbing to say the least.
Posted 22 Oct 2009 at 12:07 pm ¶