VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2009: Def Jam

The Hip Hop Honors 2009: Def Jam premiered last night on VH1.  This year’s event was the first to celebrate a specific brand of hip hop, as opposed to a collection of hip hop greats.  The result was dope, featuring performances by Def Jam artists The Roots, Public Enemy, Scarface, Ludacris, Method Man & Redman, DMX, Onyx, Ja Rule & Ashanti, and Rick Ross, with guest appearances/collaborations by Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kid Rock, KRS One, Wale, Gym Class Heroes, & Trey Songz.  Below is the video for the full event, as well as a few of the better performances from the night.  You can browse through all of the clips from the night, including interviews with hip-hop “architects” Russel Simmons, Rick Rubin, Lyor Cohen, L.A.Reid, and Bill Adler, HERE

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FULL SHOW

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The Roots, Eminem, and DJ Jazzy Jeff perform LL Cool J‘s “Rock The Bells”

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Ludacris & Scarface perform “Guess Who’s Back?” and “Southern Hospitality”

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DMX and Gym Class Heroes perform “Party Up”

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Mary J. Blige & Method Man perform “I’ll Be There For You” and “You’re All I Need To Get By”