2008 Woodie Awards
Late rapper honored in first annual hip-hop celebration
Dan Socha
Issue date: 11/13/04 Section: Arts & Entertainment
On October 12th, the first annual "VH1 Hip Hop Honors" was aired. The event included live performances by the Beastie Boys, Fat Joe, and Public Enemy. The ceremony came in response to the 30th anniversary of when hip-hop music was first introduced into Bronx nightclubs by means of DJ Kool Herc.
A five-part documentary entitled And You Don't Stop 30 Years of Hip-Hop aired on VH1 during the week prior to the ceremony. The series captured the transformation of hip-hop music and culture. Each episode covered a different branch of hip-hop, including break dancing, spray-painting, and gangster rap.
There were several hip-hop legends that were the devoted "honorees" of the evening. DJ Kool Herc was one of the honorees, as well as rap legends Krs1 and Run DMC. The final MC to be honored that night was Tupac Shakur.
The late Shakur was killed eight years ago, but his music is still very popular today. Labeled, and even tattooed, a gangster rapper, Shakur wrote most of his songs about life in the inner city. A talented actor, poet, musician, and overall artist, Shakur was killed at the young age of 25.
Two of the most famous rappers paid homage to Shakur. MC Hammer-who worked with Shakur during a campaign in 1996 to oppose the "Three strikes" drug laws and the "California Civil Rights Initiative" which was the anti-affirmative action measure-and Nas, who was at one time Shakur's rival during the west coast/east coast rap feud.
MC Hammer performed a spoken word rendition of Shakur's "Unconditional Love," an emotionally packed song, which first appeared on Shakur's "Greatest Hits" album. The lyrics read, "You could listen to my truest thoughts, my truest feelings. All my peers are doing years beyond drug dealing. How many caskets do we have to witness before we see it's hard to live this life without God, so we must ask forgiveness."
Hammer's tribute was then followed by Nas covering Shakur's hit, "Keep Ya Head Up." This is one of Shakur's most optimistic songs, a song directed towards women, specifically inner city teenage mothers. Some of the lyrics read, "I give a hollar to my sisters on welfare. Tupac cares, even if don't nobody else care... And when he tells you ain't nothin', don't believe him. And if he can't learn to love you, you should leave him. Cause sista you don't need him. And I ain't tryin' to gas ya up, I just call em how I see em." Nas certainly did the song justice, as he had the crowd chanting, "2 Pac" during the chorus. He even wore a bandana tied in the front, which was a style Shakur introduced.
A five-part documentary entitled And You Don't Stop 30 Years of Hip-Hop aired on VH1 during the week prior to the ceremony. The series captured the transformation of hip-hop music and culture. Each episode covered a different branch of hip-hop, including break dancing, spray-painting, and gangster rap.
There were several hip-hop legends that were the devoted "honorees" of the evening. DJ Kool Herc was one of the honorees, as well as rap legends Krs1 and Run DMC. The final MC to be honored that night was Tupac Shakur.
The late Shakur was killed eight years ago, but his music is still very popular today. Labeled, and even tattooed, a gangster rapper, Shakur wrote most of his songs about life in the inner city. A talented actor, poet, musician, and overall artist, Shakur was killed at the young age of 25.
Two of the most famous rappers paid homage to Shakur. MC Hammer-who worked with Shakur during a campaign in 1996 to oppose the "Three strikes" drug laws and the "California Civil Rights Initiative" which was the anti-affirmative action measure-and Nas, who was at one time Shakur's rival during the west coast/east coast rap feud.
MC Hammer performed a spoken word rendition of Shakur's "Unconditional Love," an emotionally packed song, which first appeared on Shakur's "Greatest Hits" album. The lyrics read, "You could listen to my truest thoughts, my truest feelings. All my peers are doing years beyond drug dealing. How many caskets do we have to witness before we see it's hard to live this life without God, so we must ask forgiveness."
Hammer's tribute was then followed by Nas covering Shakur's hit, "Keep Ya Head Up." This is one of Shakur's most optimistic songs, a song directed towards women, specifically inner city teenage mothers. Some of the lyrics read, "I give a hollar to my sisters on welfare. Tupac cares, even if don't nobody else care... And when he tells you ain't nothin', don't believe him. And if he can't learn to love you, you should leave him. Cause sista you don't need him. And I ain't tryin' to gas ya up, I just call em how I see em." Nas certainly did the song justice, as he had the crowd chanting, "2 Pac" during the chorus. He even wore a bandana tied in the front, which was a style Shakur introduced.