BOW DOWN!

For once, Viacom did not let me down.

Maybe a little over a month ago, I started to notice ads for "The Return of Hip-Hop Honors." No biggie (no pun intended...GAH!!! SEE WHAT I DID THERE?!), right? THEN, a couple of weeks later, they added the tag, "ALL HAIL THE QUEENS."

My heart dropped, "IS VH1 ABOUT TO HONOR FEMALE RAPPERS??!?!?!?!?!? PLEASE SAY YES!!!"

I google-searched my heart out and couldn't find any information about who was being honored at that time. They saved the announcement for a couple of weeks ago. Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Salt-n-Pepa, and Lil Kim!


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Fast forward to last week's just... SORROW and all I could do and just wish the show was happening IMMEDIATELY.

July 11th shows up and the FIRST thing I do is pull up VH1 to set my DVR for the night. I noticed that the show was only set for an HOUR and 20 minutes....excuse me?! No no no...I sent a tweet right quick to VH1 that said, "See what you're not going to do is cut my ladies short. We don't need to see a repeat of 'Love & Hip-Hop' that bad."

I watched the show live and had SOOOOOOOOOO MANY FEELS. I won't do a blow by blow of the show. Instead, let's just talk about what made this night so special: UNITY.

When you think of female rappers from the late 80s and 90s, you remember them always being in each others' videos, on each others' tracks, and there was a literal sisterhood. Remember "Ladies Night (Remix)" from Lil Kim?! All of these beautiful women were in it, not for men, but for themselves! Even people not on the track! Check it out:


You don't see that anywhere anymore. All women in the industry (rap, R&B, and pop) are against each other, like there's not room for EVERYONE. But, back then, they were like, "come on! There's room for all of us." It's a sad reality because I don't think it's ENTIRELY the individual artists' faults. However, it HAS to change. Why is our history going to be left to a bunch of dudes? Can we tell our stories? Can we battle the dudes? Can we be sisters?

Remy Ma did an interview about how she didn't realize there were so many women in hip-hop until she was at the rehearsals. She said, "we're an army and we need to fight back!" YES. YES. DO THAT. Not that being a male rapper makes you superior to female rappers, but all those women...all that greatness that was on stage, could topple the wack ass male rappers of today. ANY. DAY. OF. THE. WEEK. So, come on...Let's do this thing.

There were plenty complaining about who they chose, and that they should have chose more. Of course, we could argue that all day. However, these four nominees were chosen for a reason. Not only were they successful, they CHANGED the game in the mainstream/commercial world. AND for different reasons.

These women changed my life and I could not imagine growing up now and not having such STRONG, SMART women as role models. They all affected me in different ways. If you've been following me, "Very Necessary" and "Black Reign" are both in my Top 10 Most Influential albums.
If you don't know:




Two albums that I had in my possession that later got taken away because of the bad words! Ooops! It's cool though, I completely understand.

I'm going to try and make this QUICK, but I'm so hyped. The show was done very well. LOVED all the guest spots from DA BRAT, TRINA, RAH DIGGA, THE LADY OF RAGE, MONIE LOVE, EVE (who hosted), ETC ETC ETC.

The Missy TRIBUTES were phenomenal. QUEEN LATIFAH's tributes were PHENOMENAL. SALT N PEPA'S tribute was good, but could have been more. KIM'S tribute was FIRE!!! I literally said, "GO OFF, TEYANA!!!"  I loved seeing all of these women COME TOGETHER...ESPECIALLY during "U.N.I.T.Y." Seriously. I cried. I loved seeing the male artists BOW DOWN. I want there to be that NOW, but some are so ....

WAIT....

Let's continue on that UNITY and talk about GROWTH. Talk about MATURITY. Talk about JESUS:

FAITH EVANS INTRODUCING LIL KIM'S SET?!?!??



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There were tweets dissing Faith for saluting "side chicks," but those were from children. Won't He do it? At some point, you become a grown ass woman and realize that you need to let things go. You both grow up and have children...or she whooped her butt and got it out of her system. Idontknow....

The show was great, I pissed off my neighbors because..surround sound, dancing, rapping...etc etc...

I will say that SOME of the men, kinda slowed the show down, but I won't say names.

It was very enjoyable. Now, if we can get an HONORS for R&B of the 90s, I'll be set.

What an overdue program for these AMAZING women.

These women changed music. Period. They taught us girls that we weren't hoes. We weren't resigned to just be at the feet of men. They taught us how to love OURSELVES and DO US. So empowering.

I remember listening to Salt-N-Pepa ALL OF THE TIME. I learned about sex and the IMPORTANCE of doing it safely from their music. They had SO MUCH AWARENESS for everyone. I'm sure it was taboo then, but it was...VERY necessary... *cough*

They taught us that it was okay to be sexual beings, but on our own terms. To make sure we didn't fall for the okie doke from trifling people. I'm sure they were one of the first to be super supportive of the queer community as well. Look how they grew up! They have always been so beautiful. Whenever I looked at how sexy Pepa was, I was amazed. She looked like me and she was one of the sexiest women out there!

THE QUEEN. MAN. What can be said that's never been said? She has always been a role model to me. She's ALWAYS carried herself with such grace, but in a different way that had been presented before. She has always been so regal. And to accomplish everything she has, she has ALWAYS brought people WITH her. She's knocked down doors for herself and to let us all in. I just wish CoverGirl would put the Queen Collection in stores EVERYWHERE. She taught us how to get respect from the opposite sex: TAKE IT. It's one thing to listen to the bullshit they feed us, it's a whole other thing to let you know UPFRONT, "let me tell you what you're NOT going to call me. Let me also tell you the consequences you suffer if you approach me in a negative manner." AND HOW TO DO IT ALL WITH A SMILE!!!!!! All of these queens represent happiness with a side of "don't eff with me."

LIL KIM. I will start by saying that her sexiness back in the day was SUPER INTIMIDATING. I didn't OWN "Hardcore," but my cousins did and it was a LITTLE MUCH for me. Which is fine...I was a child. Haha! I LOVED hearing her rap though. She was SO beautiful and little, but she had the edge of YoYo plus more! It was mind-boggling at times. I loved the bright colors and the styles she pulled off. In all of that, she was all about getting all the girls together and doing the damn thing. Though I was intimidated by the sexuality as a child, I respected it. I respect it more now as an adult. She wasn't sexy for dudes, she was sexy for herself. She described sex acts because that's what she wrote and loved. Fine. She taught us that we could have those multiple sides and it's okay! AND...don't judge a book by its cover.

I don't think Kim gets a lot of respect for what she's done because of her plastic surgery, which isn't fair at all. She's entitled to do what she wants with her body, just like everyone else. Unfortunately, I think it's a lack of self-esteem and people telling her she was never good enough. That happens. So, instead of us DOGGING her, let's uplift her and uplift our girls and let them know they're beautiful as they are. She deserved all the accolades last night and I'm proud of her for overcoming. And certain rappers of today STILL refuse to give KIM their respect and it's sad. There would be NO you without her. We can recognize your different styles, but there's no denying the influence.

MISSY ELLIOTT. THE Mother Effin' INNOVATOR. Before she was in our faces, she was your fav's secret to success. Not everyone can do that. Not everyone can take their style and mold artists the way she did. And not just hip hop, but R&B and POP as well. This woman then decided to become a performer and just DESTROYED ...it's hard to put into words, she's so good. She was a big girl, doing big things and was just happy to be there!  Honestly, I'm not sure Missy ever realizes who she is. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that she was the one that reignited music videos. Creative music videos. And we are always so STOKED to see what she and Dave Myers have in mind. Her skills were top notch.

Missy is the embodiment of empowerment. She took control and did her thing. AND SHE HAD FUN DOING IT. It's okay to talk about life, especially the bad parts, and still have fun. She is the leader in a lot of the sisterhood of music and a fellow fan of all these women. Missy will always be a favorite because I TOTALLY relate to her.

My words to Live Nation, AEG Live, etc:

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MAKE A TOUR. Make a tour of these INCREDIBLE rappers and you can have every. last. penny. I kid you not. I will pay for a ticket upfront, a VIP Upgrade, and go ALL BY MYSELF.

I'm so grateful for these women and all the others that were RIGHTFULLY on PEDESTALS at the end of the show. Grateful to have those role models to teach me how to kick ass and take names with style and grace. Those women who truly taught me that we can accomplish so much even with men telling us we're good for one thing.

Seriously, I'm in tears again. I hope that last night inspired some of these new rappers to step their games up. Or inspired them to do it...form a sisterhood or that army that Remy Ma spoke of.  If not, Bow Down and move out of the way of the QUEENS!

In conclusion: What is a Rich Homie Quan and why was he messing up a lyric we all know??????? lol