Hip-hop pioneers honored at Las Vegas Strip event
Terry Crews said it best. “It’s time to give the legends of the hip-hop their flowers.”
The ensuing evening played out in a flourish at Aria’s Mariposa Ballroom during Saturday’s second annual Hip Hop Grandmaster Awards. The was a benefit for tech giants — and recent Las Vegas residents — Ben and Felicia Horowitz’s Paid in Full Foundation.
The Foundation acknowledges those who have made an significant impact on the hip-hop culture and industry but may not have received adequate recognition. Paid in Full also provides financial opportunities to help these artists to continue their creative and artistic visions.
Crews, the host of “America’s Got Talent” on NBC, hosted the second installment of the event. The inaugural show was last November at Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health’s Event Center.
For the second event, hip-hop pioneers Grandmaster Caz, Roxanne Shante and Kool Moe Dee were honored. Such rap stars as Nas, Doug E. Fresh, Fab 5 Freddy, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Rakim, Scarface and Steve Stoute made appearances. Rakim and Scarface were honored last year.
Caz is remembered as the artist who contributed trajectory-altering and uncredited lyrics to “Rapper’s Delight,” issued by Sugarhill Gang in 1979. A legendary sampling: “Everybody go, ‘Hotel, motel, Holiday Inn. If your girl starts actin’ up, then you take her friend.”
That’s Caz. But Big Bank Hank heard that rap on tape while working at a pizza restaurant. He seized that work for the Sugarhill Gang song, which reached the top 40 on the Billboard charts and is credited as the first rap/crossover hit.
Kool Moe Dee led the genre’s rise from park jams to mainstream audiences and commercial takeover. While a member of Treacherous Three, he premiered on the 1980 B-side “New Rap Language,” a groundbreaking speed rhyme considered years ahead of its time. “At the Party,” “Put the Boogie in Your Bod” and “Feel the Heartbeat” are among his classics.
Roxanne Shante was a rarity in the rap culture as a teenage girl who dominated rap battles from her home in New York’s famed Queensbridge Houses. From as early as the age of 14, Shante was crushing it in open competitions.
Shante gained local notoriety at “Roxanne Wars,” series of hip-hop battles in the mid-1980s. yielding rap music’s first “diss” record, and perhaps the most answer records in history. She was a pioneering member of the Juice Crew of New York rap artists.
Shante famously freelanced, with no prep, the 1984 hit “Roxanne’s Revenge.” The 2017 film “Roxanne, Roxanne” is a dramatization of Shante’s life.
Nas is returning with his Las Vegas Philharmonic collab of the groundbreaking album “Illmatic” at Encore Theater in February. Also a Queensbridge rap icon, Nas interviewed Shante onstage during the event, recalling how the rap icon took an interest in the young artist and asked for a sample of his work.
After repeatedly saying he’d come up with something for her to review, she challenged the young artist, “If you don’t have a rhyme the next time I see you, I’m gonna (mess) you up!”
Thus inspired, Nas got it together and his career took off.
Fab 5 Freddy, an original “Yo MTV Raps” host, interviewed Caz and Moe Dee on stage. “My generation of hip-hop is used to being overlooked,” Moe Dee said. “But we are the ground-breakers. We helped build the industry.”
None other than Will Smith, the Fresh Prince himself, cut a video as part of Caz’s intro, offering that he was a genuine pioneer in the field.
The night closed with Caz, Moe Dee and Shante in a torrid free-style rap. This, as such Vegas dignitaries as Top Rank Boxing founder Bob and Lovee Arum, and Ruvo Center co-founders Larry and Camille Ruvo were seated nearby and overtaken by the party.
The participation of Flavor Flav, bounding from icon to icon and calling rap lyrics from his seat, was a surprise to nobody.
The Horowitz’s commitment to the cause can’t be understated. Ben Horowitz is the venture capital mogul co-founder of the firm Andreessen Horowitz. The mogul and bonafide rap fan said after the event that the show would return to Las Vegas. The venue is to be determined.
We had 260 in the room at Aria, a solid start for a community that deserves all the accolades.
Best BET in Vegas
The “BET Hip Hop Awards” are being staged at Drai’s Beachclub & Nightclub, taping for the first time from Las Vegas on Tuesday night. Travis Scott is the recipient of the”I Am Hip Hop Award,” the night’s leading honor. Scott is a six-time nominee for this year’s show.
Megan Thee Stallion leads this year’s nominations with a dozen. The event recognizes the best in hip hop from the past year, covering 17 categories chosen by a voting academy of industry experts.
The show is hosted by hip-hip legend Fat Joe, premiering 8 p.m. Oct. 15 on BET, of course. Fans can vote on DJ of the Year, Producer of the Year and Best Hip Hop platform at bet.com/votehha24.
Cool Hang Alert
Venerable Vegas piano showman Spadoni (it’s fun to say) hosts the “All Request Show” at Juliet Cocktail Lounge at The Venetian from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Wednesday. Request any song and let Spadoni go to work. Very chic spot, and this guy can play. No cover; a reservation wouldn’t hurt. Go to julietcocktailroom.com for intel.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
