We're Still Recovering From These Epic 'Hip Hop Honors' Moments
By Christopher Rosa, Damian Bellino and Alexa Teitjen
VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens aired Monday night (July 11), and our main goddesses Lil' Kim, Salt-N-Pepa featuring DJ Spinderella, Queen Latifah and Missy Elliott were properly honored. Performances! Fashion shows! Cake! Last night was filled to the brim with epic moments. These 10 were particularly fabulous. In fact, we're still recovering. Relive them, and let us know your favorite HHH moments in the comments below.
Puff Daddy surprises Lil' Kim.
Lil' Kim had no idea one of her OGs would be honoring her last night. "It's her courage," Puff Daddy said. "She has no fear. Fearless. She's not afraid to do things differently. She's a diva at times. She's high maintenance with me at times. At the end of the day, she demands the ultimate respect, and that's how you treat a queen."
Royal Reign makes her television debut.
Lil' Kim may have been one of the honorees, but it was her 2-year-old daughter who really stole the show. During her acceptance speech, Lil' Kim gave a shout-out to her daughter, who was in the audience. The camera then panned to the tiny child, and she looked so cute that the world imploded. (O.K, not really, but you get the picture. She was damn adorable.)
Faith Evans and Lil' Kim squash their beef.
That was history you just watched, folks. Evans, on her very grown woman s–t, introduced rapper and her late husband’s girlfriend Lil’ Kim. This was an epic moment, as the two women infamously were both connected to The Notorious B.I.G. The beef pulled the ladies into the East Coast–West Coast rivalry, but now nearly 20 years later, perhaps the hatchet is finally buried.
Teyana Taylor absolutely crushes her Lil' Kim tribute.
Lil Mama, Taylor, Dej Loaf, French Montana and The Lox all came together, but it was Taylor who really stole the performance. Clad in Lil' Kim's Hard Core leopard ensemble, Taylor delivered a, well, hardcore rendition of "No Time." It was jaw-dropping.
Queen Latifah performs in her own tribute.
Only the Queen (literally) could pull this off. Queen Latifah began the performance with a slightly-tweaked version of Chicago’s “When You’re Good to Mama.” (If you forget, Queen Latifah was nominated for an Oscar for playing Mama Morton in the 2002 adaptation of the musical.) She went right into “Come Into My House,” an epic cut from her debut album All Hail the Queen (1989). Rah Digga, The Lady of Rage, Da Brat and YoYo then joined Queen Latifah on stage for “Had It Up 2 Here.” The tribute ended with (of course) Queen Latifah’s hit song “Ladies First.” Monie Love and Queen Latifah brought the house down–in fact, we’re still recovering.
Ashanti slays the hell out of Salt-N-Pepa's "Whatta Man."
Legs for days!
Queen Latifah unites all of hip-hop's queens.
Yo-Yo, Monie Love, Da Brat, Ms Jade, MC Lyte, Nikki D, Sha Rock, Sweet Tee, The Lady of Rage, Suga T, Rah Digga, Mia X, Heather B, Eve and honorees Missy Elliott, Salt-N-Pepa and DJ Spinderella and Lil’ Kim joined Queen L on stage for a special performance of “U.N.I.T.Y.” The ladies stood fiercely on the stage as Queen Latifah performed the song in what became a bold image of girl power, the perfect ending to a night honoring hip-hop’s queens.
Winnie Harlow fiercely honors Lil' Kim's style.
The America's Next Top Model favorite stunned in the Lil' Kim tribute fashion show, sporting the rapper's iconic purple pasty look from the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards.
Remy Ma and Fat Joe go "All the Way Up."
The Love & Hip Hop star and iconic rapper killed their performance of the song, which hit No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Queen Latifah gives a very woke speech about race.
"I don't care how much money or things I have...if I go outside and try to hail a cab and he passes me for the white woman standing right there, that racism is still alive and kicking," she said.