Hip-Hop And You Don't Stop

Let me jus say this first: THANK YOU RICK RUBIN & RUSSELL SIMMONS for finding DEF JAM and keeping it strong 25 years later. They wanted different music, like Russell said "I didn't want no R&B sh*t", they made a new genre and it spread across the nation like nobody's business; established in 1984 & celebrating it 25 years today. Yesterday on VH1, the show Hip-Hop honors honored Def Jam for it's success in the past 25 years, and all it's great artists from the beginning with LL Cool J, Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys to finding new talent like Jay-Z to Kanye to Ludacris and definitely many more. You know without that white boy Rick dropping beats & having Russell on his side to find ridicuolously dope talent, hip-hop would never be what it is today.

I can't seem to find a picture of both the Roots and Eminem when they opened the show with the first performance doing LL Cool J's "Rock the Bells". The energy was clearly there as if LL was killing em with his rhymes as if he was back in the 80's.

Yes, let me just say RIP DJ AM (Travis' shirt reminded me). Anyways, Gym Class Heroes, KRS-ONE and Wale performed Beastie Boys "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" and man was that performance great...I think it was probably because Beastie Boys had some of the greatest beats...that were ever thought of by a rap group of 3 white boys lol.

"It was a clear black night, a clear white moon, Warren G was on the street trying to consume..." Trey Songz and Warren G were the ones who did that old school thing with the "wave your hands in the air" and Trey having to say "Yuuuuuuuup!" at least twice during the performance. With that smooth west coast style, Warren G definitely brought something different to Def Jam and Lyor knew that when he signed him back in the day.

So here's Ludacris representing Def Jam South, he's a pretty good rapper....from the south I mean.

Does this guy above really need an introduction, or do I gotta put on some crazy clock, gold teeth and a hat just to say FLAVA FLAVVVV ! ? Public Enemy's performance was crazyyyyyyyy! Especially with all those black guys all on one stage (aha, just kidding) but ever since Public Enemy was signed onto Def Jam, it has always been seen as something different and that is definitely a good thing.

Look! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Rick Ross & Kid Rock stealing LL's kangol, big gold chain and sweatsuit that he wore back in the 80's ! aha.

Ruff Riders ! You know if you can't hear DMX say it, I was gonna have to be the one to tell you. Now I know what your thinking.....DMX seems impossible to understand with his deep grunting, dog barking self. But it made perfect sense when Tracy Morgan and some other guy got to introduce him. The guy next to him translated into 'DMX lingo' whatever Tracy said and all you heard from him was: "Nah what I mean, ruff ruff." (and he did a X with his arms every time he finished saying something) It would be a hell of a lot funnier if you heard it for yourself, mainly because I can't sound like DMX whatsoever, especially with his deep voice, wtf is up with that? I only know half of what he's saying...and half of it is about dogs and motorcycles right?

The song that Mary J. Blige & Method Man did : CLASSIC. You remember that song, it goes like You're all, I need, to get by..... and the vocals and what not come in (hard to have you listen since it all I can do is type it out for you)

Foxy Brown & Fabolous did it right when they performed "I'll Be" which originally had Foxy and Jay-Z on the track. Foxy & Fab were one of about 6 other artists who were part of the finale. Although I think they should have went last and not Wale who did Kanye's "Touch The Sky" which wasn't that great as Foxy & Fab who definitely had the energy from the crowd.

Tips to have a successful record label:

1) I, I mean YOU "need a beat"

2) you gotta "walk this way"

3) you need to "fight for your right (to partyyy!)"

4) you gotta be Slick like Rick

5) remember to "fight the power"

6) and you need a to have a "G FUNK ERA"

and with that, you are guarenteed success for the first 25 years and you know there's more to come.

- Lizi :]