After a six-year hiatus, the VH1 Hip Hop Honors event returned to celebrate the best in the game but this time, putting all shine on the women who have made a mark in the male dominated industry. Held live from the Lincoln Center in New York City, the show paid homage to the female pioneers, trailblazers and trend-setters who led a movement to make their voices heard.
Queen Latifah, Lil Kim, Missy Elliott and Salt-N-Pepa were the honorees at tonight’s event which featured appearances from Michelle Obama, Pharrell, Diddy, Timbaland, Nelly Furtado and many more. Puff made a surprise appearance to honor Lil Kim. “Everything about you, Kim, from your music to your fashion…you brought glamour to hip-hop,” Diddy said.
Rich Homie Quan had an embarrassing moment on stage as he forgot the lyrics to Notorious B.I.G.’s ‘Get Money’ while performing the song on stage with Lil Kim.
Check out some highlights from the show below.
RICH HOMIE QUAN MESSES UP LYRICS
MISSY ELLIOTT TRIBUTE PERFORMANCE
The show opened with a tribute to honoree Missy Elliott, which included an army of dancers and performances by Remy Ma (Work It), Nelly Furtado (Get UR Freak On), Eve (Hot Boyz) and Trina (One Minute Man). Elliott’s tribute also included presenters Pharrell, Timbaland, Busta Rhymes, Angie Martinez, Jazmine Sullivan and Keyshia Cole, plus a tribute to Missy’s work as a producer that featured performances from Fantasia (Free Yourself), Monica (So Gone), and Tweet (Oops (Oh My)).
QUEEN LATIFAH TRIBUTE PERFORMANCE
Honoree Queen Latifah performed “When You’re Good to Mama,” a number from her Academy Award nominated performance in “Chicago.” Her tribute also included presenters LL Cool J and Phylicia Rashad, a tribute to her motion picture career and the Queen herself performing a medley of her hits including “Come Into My House,” “Had It Up 2 Here,” “Monie in the Middle,” and “Ladies” First” with Monie Love.
FAT JOE AND REMY MA PERFORM ‘ALL THE WAY UP’
LIL’ KIM TRIBUTE & PERFORMANCE
On her very own birthday, Lil’ Kim was surprised with an introduction from Sean “Diddy” Combs. She performed her hit songs “Queen B,” “Get Money,” and “Lighters Up.” Her tribute also included a salute to her contribution to style and fashion introduced by designer Marc Jacobs, plus performances by The Lox, Lil Mama, and Teyana Taylor (Crush On You, ‘No Time and All About The Benjamins), introduced by Faith Evans.
GRAND FINALE
For the show’s grand finale, Queen Latifah performed “U.N.I.T.Y” along with hip hop pioneers Eve, M.C Lyte, Monie Love, Da Brat, Mia X, YoY o, Ms Jade, The Lady of Rage, Suga-T, Rah Digga, Nikki D, Sha Rock, We Tee, Heather B.
BLACK LIVES MATTER MESSAGE
Black Lives Matter founders Darnell Moore and Alicia Garza opened tonight’s live broadcast of VH1 HIP HOP HONORS: ALL HAIL THE QUEENS. Garza welcomed the audience to the event by saying, “Joy is also an important part of our movement – so tonight, we could not be happier to welcome you all to All Hail the Queens!” Darnell Moore then introduced an all-star tribute to Missy Elliott that included performances from Remy Ma, Nelly Furtado, Eve, and Trina.