The gang’s all here this beautiful Wednesday morning as the second day of rehearsals for Hip Hop Honors kick off. Some say hip-hop runs on its own time, but Fat Joe, Jim Jones and the Gym Class Heroes are all here, right on time, to honor Cypress Hill. To have such a collection of talent under one roof is amazing, and that’s not lost on the honorees themselves. While walking around surveying the set, B-Real happens to whip out the same digital camera your loyal bloggers have to record the moment, as a decidedly less portly Fat Joe walks over to pay his respects.

It’s obvious Fat Joe’s been doing his homework, as he tears through a flawless rendition of “The Phuncky Feel One.” Jim Jones has a little work to do before the show, as he seems more interested in watching the dancers than the words to “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That.”

Appropriately, plumes of smoke wreath Cypress Hill as they run through “(Rock) Superstar.” Moments later, Cypress Hill, Jim Jones, Mack 10, Gym Class Heroes are up on the mezzanine, answering our questions about Cypress Hill and a particular herbal remedy the group are fond of (coming soon…). Mos Def swings by and tells us which honoree he’s most excited to see, which we’ll have for you later today.

Check back for tons of updates from hip-hop’s front lines, and be sure to tune in Monday, October 6th at 10 p.m.

Welcome, y’all. We’re finally rolling on our big show and want you to participate by blasting off comments on all the action. Who’s rocking? Who’s looking sharp? Who’s dropping the ball? Where were you when you first heard that track? What MCs are you listening to these days? Stake your claim in the comments section and pass the ball around.

IM a pal right now and get on it, we’re about to start.

10:01: Connecting the dots between Paid in Full and “Laffy Taffy.” Not bad, TM.

10:07: Holla! Guess will.i.am did the best “ra-ta-ta-ta,” but that whole spray of Missy imitators was sweet. Flipping it and reversing it…and what about Missy’s Prince shirt?

10:13: What are Missy’s hippest tracks? And what’s Tweet been up to?

10:15: Wonder if Eve does look like a Halle Berry poster?

10:18: Nelly F. definitely learned a thing or two from her time spent at Timbaland U.

10:20: I’m thinking Mary J’s Chevy tune is hipper than T.I.’s Chevy tune.

10:24: Diddy rocking Teddy. If you think he’s red-zoning, punch up “My Prerogative” and pretend you’re back in the Arsenio era.

10:30: Dude, when’s Doug E. Fresh getting his day in the sun?

10:30: Let us know if you have Superhead’s number in yr celly.

10:40: How many of you guys are downloading “No Diggity” right now?

10:44: Looks like Virginia has been good to Teddy Riley. Zoom Zoom.

10:47: When Busta’s adrenaline is up in the trillions, we got trouble. Guess that Tribe salute is going to rock.

10: 50: Anyone here ever mix that wild style mess that Tracy just talked about? Ketchup?

10:59: Lots of old school everything in the Wild Style nod, but leave it to KRS-One to bring Jena 6 into the action.

11:07: Brooklyn is in the house. What’s the cooler WHODINI joint, “Friends” or “Freaks”?

11:11: How many Mr. Magic fans out there? Give mom a call and find out what the story is.

11:13: “If you need a beat, take one of mine” - THAT’S how they shared back then.

11:19: Could these dances have come out out of ATL?

11:22: Keitel rhyming - guess hip-hop has gone into weird places.

11:25: The first disc Snoop bought was “Ring My Bell.” What’s the first one you bought?

11: 28: Quick vote: Does Ice-T still have it?

11:35: That’s some major bling on Snoop’s mic hand. They got a safe in the green room?

11:51: No one’s got a voice like Q-Tip.

11:56: Lots on energy going down here. Just about time for some label to swoop in and kick a new disc by Tribe, yes?

11:59: And we out. Who’s up for the Gotti story? Talk amongst yourselves…

A Tribe Called Quest is being celebrated for their ingenuity and creativity tonight on Hip Hop Honors, but one of its members, Phife Dawg, gets extra respect for the courage he’s brought to his battle against diabetes. The ailment afflicts a big chunk of the African American population; reports tell us that 13 percent of blacks over the age of 20 suffer with the condition. Phife, one of the Tribe’s founding members, is fighting the condition with dialysis, and a recent switch in treatments has made him feel much better, one of the reasons he was able to participate in the Honors show.

Read the rest of this entry »

After getting to spend a little quality time with Ice-T behind-the-scenes at Hip Hop Honors, there were a few other highlights from the evening that won’t be broadcast on tonight’s show.

* “You Already Knew It, But Didn’t Want to Know It”: Ice-T and Coco have mirrors over their bed.

* Requisite Britney Spears Reference: Salt N’ Pepa made mention of the pop-wreck and the perils of fame when they visited the press room.

* Best advice for up-and-coming artists looking for guidance from their elders: “Not f*cking up $400,000.” — WHODINI

* Mos Def will star as Grandmaster Busy Bee in a biopic of the MC’s life.

* Andre Harrell wants to make the story of New Jack Swing into a Broadway musical.

In addition to the upcoming projects and cautionary tales, some felt moved to comment on the state of hip-hop:

“Hip-hop’s getting raggedy. It’s not quality music anymore.” — Snoop

“I feel like a lot of criticism has been made about hip-hop over the past year. Some of it was quite public, over the past few weeks, in terms of mock battles between artists and their record sales. A lot of people are questioning the substance, and speaking as one of the members of A Tribe Called Quest, I’m happy that part of our legacy was that we were about positivity, music and being substantive and including all people.” — Q-Tip

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Our Hip Hop Honors bash premiers tonight, and we want to know what you think of the show. Did T.I. do Snoop justice? Did Keyshia Cole and Eve nail their Missy tribute? We’re going to live-blog the event, and want you guys to weigh in. So set the computer near the TV and connect with others while you tell the world what you think of the performances. 10 pm EST.

Which artist are you looking forward to seeing?

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We were lucky enough to get a little time with the West Coast’s Ambassador of Gangsta, Ice-T, when Hip Hop Honors taped last week. As he held court in the the press room (ignoring the moderator’s time limits) we realized Ice-T might be one of the savviest players in the game. Check out some of what he had to say, and be sure to tune in tonight at 10 p.m. to see Ice-T pay tribute to Snoop.

“I ended up on Law and Order. They asked me to do four shows, and now I’m on my ninth year. I’ll be on that show til they throw my black ass off. It’s a good look.”

“Imagine that — Ice-T playing the police.”

“I judge men by their women. If I see you and she all out of pocket, that’s a reflection on you. I’m going to see if she’s looking good. If you got on all the jewels and her shoes is bad, then I’m going to be like, ‘Player, you ain’t handling your business correctly.’”

“I never fronted on my albums. When I put a girl in the video, that was my girl. I never had a model in a picture with me, in life. I never posed with a car that wasn’t mine.”

“When I did the new album Gangsta Rap, with me and Coco lying in bed on the album butt-naked, I was kind of like laying there one morning looking at myself like ‘Damn, this sh*t’s kind of fly right now.’ I ain’t posing — this is the truth.”

“Most of my moves you won’t understand for two or three years.”

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When you get next to a superhero like Snoop Dogg, you just naturally start taking on some of his mannerisms. The king of South Central has a distinct fashion style (Willie Nelson is the only other pop dude sporting pigtails, right?) and a lingo all his own. No wonder Nelly, Bow Wow, Q-Tip, Ciara, , LL, Tracy Morgan and others took a shot a doing their best Snoop impersonation at our Hip-Hop Honors show. Crackalacka, nephew - check out these clips.

Which one does the best job?

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With over twenty years in the game, Spinderella is more than qualified to talk about this year’s Hip Hop Honors. The Salt N’ Pepa MC helped make the group a household name while driving home the point that in hip-hop, a woman’s place is behind the decks, not just in the videos. Spin was kind enough to share her fond memories (a personal serenade by Guy) and not-so-fond memories (near-death experience with Missy) with us.

WHODINI
WHODINI was my first concert, besides Salt N’ Pepa, when I first got with [Salt N' Pepa]. It was one of those Fresh Fests, in ‘87. I was brand new, like 16 or 17. I got to stand in the front, because I was with Salt N’ Pepa. I was like, “What the hell am I doing here?” I remember Jalil was singing to me — I was like “Oh my God.”

MISSY ELLIOTT
Me and Missy — we have a personal story — we could have died! I was driving in her car with her, and it was a really rainy night. It was flooding. She decides that she wants to drive through this big flood, and I was like, “I don’t know about this.” There was a police barricade stopping people from going down this one street, but we just said forget it, because my car was right there. The water kept rising. We could have gotten arrested if we didn’t die.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rappers have never been afraid to put their opinions out there, and last night at our Hip-Hop Honors show, after helping celebrate his South Central bud Snoop Dogg, Ice T answered a volley of queries from the press, passionately erupting on a number of subjects. The most compelling flurry had to do with names - the way we identify ourselves and each other. Delivered in a lightning bolt speed, it was an impressive spiel, And it went a little sumpun like this…

N*gga’s not a bad word. My father said n*gga, so I’m not gonna get rid of the word. It has no relevance. I feel there are inside words and outside words. If you’re gay, you can say gay stuff, if you ain’t gay, don’t talk about it. If you’re fat, don’t talk about nobody skinny. If you’re skinny, don’t talk fat. If you Italian, same thing. I come from the hood where n*ggas is, so I can say n*gga. But if you ain’t from that, don’t say that. You dig?

Read the rest of this entry »

Last night was the taping of 2007 Hip Hop Honors: A Tribe Called Quest moved butts, Missy worked it, and Snoop dropped it like it’s hot. In short, its hard to believe so many of hip-hop’s visionaries, creators and chart-toppers were gathered together under one roof. You’ll get to see it all on Monday night . Til then, we leave you with a few of our own awards.

Most technically impressive performance: Nelly Furtado, “Get Ur Freak On.” Four-inch heels on huge-ass stairs, singing and rapping in two languages, all with the front of her dress missing.

Most obvious fan award: Diddy, singing along drunken-karaoke style to every word of the red hot New Jack Swing tribute.

Picture of Dorian Gray Award: Teddy Riley, who hasn’t aged since Blackstreet.

Most bonkers moment of the show: Busta Rhymes‘ stage-stomping, ballroom shaking verse on A Tribe Called Quest’s “Scenario.”

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Lyrics are key, beats are big, but one thing Monday night’s show isn’t going to let us forget is that dancing - yes baby, dancing - is central to hip-hop culture. When LL Cool J came out to tell us all about living the b-boy life, he was reminding us just how physical and seductive the music is. Introducing the Wild Style section of show and having Busy Bee and company taking the Hammerstein stage, all the spins, handstands, toprocks, windmills, and freezes brought out the groove’s theatrical aspects. And it’s infectious, right? That’s why Fab Five Freddy was standing up, swinging his butt in the Honorees box. Ditto for the bounce that was in the air a bit later, when WHODINI took over the stage with “Freaks Come Out At Night” surrounded by dudes doing suicides and butterfly kicks. “Grafitti artists and breakdancers are what got me into hip-hop,” Busy Bee said after his spot. “It’s nice to be back; me, Caz, KRS-One are still doing it, still looking good.” Even Snoop’s low-key body language stuck out. Guess just swooping right and gliding cool is a way to make a big statement. Give yourself plenty of room in front of the TV on Monday, you might catch the fever. [Pictured: T-Pain/Getty Images]