Last night, VH1 celebrated hip hop while paying homage to the golden era with their “Hip Hop Honors: The ’90s Game Changers” special.
This year, honorees included Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Martin Lawrence, Master P, and Hype Williams, while the show was filled with show-stopping performances.
Former honoree Missy Elliott opened the show by recreating her big budget video for “She’s a Bitch” as an homage to director Hype Williams. Emerging from water and dressed in a black latex outfit, she and her dancers commanded the stage with electrifying moves.
Jermaine Dupri was honored for his contributions as a Southern pioneer and received a tribute from Xscape, who performed “Just Kickin’ It,” which he co-wrote.
Following an introduction from Kelly Rowland, Havoc, Lil’ Kim, and Fabolous paid tribute to Mobb Deep’s Prodigy with a performance of the thunderous “Quiet Storm (Remix).” Fat Joe and Remy Ma honored their fallen Terror Squad brother Big Pun with “Still Not a Player (Remix),” while Warren G celebrated the memory of Nate Dogg by tapping Ty Dolla $ign for a rendition of “Regulate.” Tiny and Kandi also performed “No Scrubs,” which they co-wrote for TLC as a nod to the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes.
Other performances throughout the evening included Ty Dolla $ign’s rendition of Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It,” and a jaw dropping Teyana Taylor dance medley in which she performed a kinetic routine for LL Cool J’s “Around the Way Girl” and “Doin’ It,” Wreckx-N-Effect’s “Rump Shaker,” and Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison,” all while wearing a walking boot.
Mariah Carey closed out the evening with a medley of “Honey” that included the “So So Def Mix” featuring Jermaine Dupri and Da Brat, and “Bad Boy Remix” featuring Ma$e and The Lox. Flanked by male dancers dressed as sailors, MC performed in front of a golden jet ski before boarding a golden helicopter where DJ Khaled presented her with her award.
Check out all the performances below.
