My BET Hip Hop Awards Recap

Thanks to the pal Amoura I got a chance to attend the taping of the 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards yesterday at the Civic Center in Atlanta. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to to expect. It's BET and I've learned not to expect much from them so I definitely wasn't holding my breath.

To my (pleasant) surprise, it wasn't that bad. I mean Gucci Mane performed way too many times and I could have definitely done without the Dorrough and Soulja Boy performances. But as far as I know there weren't any petty fights in the parking lot or Kanye-esque interruptions to report. It was a smooth show for the most part.

The show definitely started off on a great note and ended with a bang. Young Jeezy performing alongside Jay-Z for the shows opener and Goodie Mob closed the show with the always classic "Cell Therapy" and "Get Rich To This."

Special honors were given to Missy Elliott, Fatima Robinson, and Ice Cube. I definitely had no problem with that...all three of them are great at their crafts. I was kind of expecting B.o.B to win the newbie award, but I definitely wasn't shocked when Drake (who wasn't in attendance) took the award instead. The major awards, including album of the year, weren't announced for obvious reasons. I guess they have to keep some things secret until the show airs in two weeks.

With bloggers and Twitter, I'm getting the feeling that award shows might be forced to air their shows live in the near, near future. What do ya'll think?

Oh, and for those of you curious that is Nicki Minaj's ba-donk-a-donk in that picture. She's really working that whole "sex sells" thing, huh? I kiiid, I kiiid!! But speaking of Nicki Minaj, I was actually really impressed by the cipher's they taped for this years show. Among the artists included in the cipher's were Nicki Minaj, Joe Budden, Wale, KRS-1, Eminem, Mos Def, Black Thought, and more. My fav's were Minaj, Budden, and Eminem...they killed it!

I kind of wish BET would change the whole format of the Hip Hop Awards and give it that real Hip Hop feel that people will probably get when they watch the ciphers.

That about wraps it up for me. Umm...we saw Big Boi and Jim Jones in the parking lot. And there was no partaking in any post-award activities. Just Club Dreamland pour moi.

Pic courtesy of On Tha Real Magazine.

Stealing They Shine (VMA Recap)

This years MTV Video Music Awards seemed to be tainted by what I'd like to call "Shine Stealers". These thieves made young girls cry and embarrassed themselves in front of Hip Hop royalty. Unless you happen to live in a cave you know I'm referring specifically to Kanye West and Lil Mama.

I'm not even gonna put on a front and say I didn't let out a little chuckle after the whole Kanye/Taylor incident went down. (Yea I know, shame on me) I just found it pretty crazy that Taylor Swift beat out Pink, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, etc. But at the end of the day Kanye ruined a pretty important moment for Taylor, who in actuality is still a kid. I've heard rumors of him apologizing or at least acknowledging what he did, but I don't believe that's been confirmed yet. Kanye did a really fucked up thing, but thankfully Beyonce kind of resolved the matter later in the show.

Now on to Shine Stealer #2, Lil Mama. I really don't have too much to say about her randomly jumping on stage with Jay Z and A. Keys. It was bizarre and she made herself look like an idiot in front of millions. Getting the cold shoulder by HOV is never a good look.

Aside from the VMA's now infamous Shine Stealers the show did have some highlights. It was great seeing Janet Jackson and all those dancers in the Michael Jackson tribute. It was definitely a nice way to start off the show. Beyonce danced her ass off during her "Single Ladies" performance and Pink got all Cirque Du Soleil on us with her "Sober" performance.

Oh yes, and the VMA's are in fact an awards show so I should probably add some commentary on who walked away with what award but umm err none of that was exciting so I'll go ahead and pass on that.

Although this years VMA's doesn't come close to the awards shows back in the 90's it was definitely entertaining. Although what made it entertaining was the stupidity of certain individuals, but hey MTV isn't what it used to be so what do we expect.

UPDATE: Here's that "apology". I believe it was posted on Kanye's blog, but I found it on Miss Info's site.

Smokey Recaps This Week In Hip Hop

I was at a Hip Hop show this week in Atlanta and I came across my homie Smokey who I haven't seen in a minute. We were chatting it up and I told him about this idea I had for a weekly Hip Hop series recapping the week in Hip Hop. Needless to say he was down! So check it out. It's a little short, but if ya'll like it we got more in the future.