Hip Hop Honors Brings It Back To The Good Ol Days

I know a lot of you reading this really won’t be able to relate, but that doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate. Another portion of you will be able to share my sentiments here; hip-hop can be depressing some times. In hip-hop years, I’m getting pretty old and the game is so different than it used to be. It doesn’t matter if it is better or worse now, it’s different…and that is enough to make me pine for the good ol’ days from time to time.

Unlike other genres of music, hip-hop tends to shun its pioneers and elder statesmen rather than pay tribute and respect to them. To me its one of the most troubling aspects of this dog eat dog culture. Thankfully Vh1 is doing something to change that. While it doesn’t get nearly the amount of press Young Buck stabbing someone at an award show gets, Hip Hop Honors is one of the best things in hip-hop today. Each year hip-hop’s greats from past and present gather to pay tribute to the legends of this culture, always capped off by tribute performances before said legend does it like only they can.

In past years we’ve seen the likes of Kool Herc, Public Enemy, KRS One, Run DMC, Sugarhill Gang, Rock Steady Crew, 2Pac, LL Cool J, Ice T, Big Daddy Kane, Biggie, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and Salt N Pepa. This years show paid tribute to Afrika Bambaataa, Russell Simmons, The Beastie Boys, Rakim, Ice Cube, Eazy E, Wu-Tang and MC Lyte.

Now I know its not just me, but watching a lot of this shit just gives me goose bumps. Last year when Common, T.I. and Black Thought (and his dead on impression) paid tribute to Big Daddy Kane before Kane came out and set it off, finishing off busting the classic steps with Scoob and Scrap, I damn near lost my mind.