VH1 Hip-Hop Honors 2009 Lineup Announced!

It’s back! This year’s VH1 Hip Hop Honors show will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the seminal Def Jam records. The show premieres Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 9/8c. Full press release is below:

The sixth annual VH1 Hip Hop Honors show will commemorate the 25th anniversary of Def Jam Records, as talents from across all artistic genres come together to celebrate this significant milestone in American hip-hop music. Eminem, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, Fabolous, Ludacris, DMX, Mary J. Blige, Redman, The Roots, Method Man, ONYX, Public Enemy, Warren G, Kid Rock, Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon, Brett Ratner, Trey Songz, Ja Rule, Gym Class Heroes, and Scarface are scheduled to show up and show out to celebrate the label that served a catalyst for this American musical phenomenon.

VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2009 will be taped from the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Howard Gilman Opera House in Brooklyn, New York. 30 Rock’s Tracy Morgan returns as host for the 3rd year, as he will be joined many of hip-hop biggest luminaries. The VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2009 broadcast will premiere on VH1 on Tuesday, October 13 at 9PM ET/PT.*

Def Jam has launched the careers of some of the biggest names in music history and has inspired other emerging labels and artists. Special homage will be paid to the architects of the label, Rick Rubin, Russell Simmons, Kevin Liles, Lyor Cohen, Julie Greenwald, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Antonio “L.A.” Reid (Chairman Island Def Jam Music Group). Presenters and performers honor the history and the legacy of Def Jam Records through never-seen-before interviews, archival footage and special musical performances of some of Def Jam’s greatest hits. It promises to be a night that will showcase how Def Jam came and remains to be one of the premier record labels of hip-hop music.

Hip Hop fans can go to HipHop.VH1.com now to comment on this year’s line-up and to weigh in on what they’d like to hear at this year’s celebration. Additionally, on Monday, September 14, VH1 will launch the full show site at HipHop.VH1.com with artist profiles, exclusive online programming, show information and more. Additional VH1.com and VH1 Mobile efforts for VH1 Hip Hop Honors will be announced in the coming weeks.

VH1 Hip Hop Honors is executive produced by Lee Rolontz for VH1 and Jac Benson for Blacjac Entertainment. Louis J. Horvitz will direct.  Nelson George and Fab 5 Freddie are co-executive producers.

Additionally, we want to know where on the web hip-hop fans go for the latest news in fashion, music, and nightlife. So tell us! Nominate your favorite online destinations in the following categories:

- Best Hip Hop DJ
- Best Hip Hop Gear
- Best Hip Hop Radio Station
- Best Hip Hop Site
- Best Hip Hop Venue

These will be featured in a special section of hiphop.vh1.com. Submit your list of top sites to us at vh1hiphophonors@vh1.com by September 10 . The nominees will be announced and voting will begin on September 14.

[All artist images are via Getty.]

For more Hip Hop Honors exclusives, check out Global Grind.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 10:45 am