Slick Rick

Slick Rick - "Hey Young World" -

Honorees for this year’s annual Hip Hop Honors show will be Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Slick Rick, Naughty By Nature and Too $hort.

The event will take place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York taping Thursday, October 2, 2008 and premièring on VH1 on Tuesday, October 7 at 9/8c on VH1. Read the entire press release here -

NEW YORK, August 13, 2008 – VH1 has announced the five honorees for their fifth annual “VH1 Hip Hop Honors,” Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Slick Rick, Naughty By Nature and Too $hort. Hosted once again by Tracy Morgan, this year’s musical celebration will give viewers a chance to step back and reminisce on a time when hip hop music began to make its greatest impact on American pop culture.

Premièring on Tuesday, October 7 at 10PM*, generations of hip hop will bridge the gap for one exceptional night to set it off with the original style and flavor that sparked a revolution and continues to fuel an evolution around the world. Additional performances and appearances will be announced shortly.

“Now in its fifth year, the ‘VH1 Hip Hop Honors’ has come to represent the pinnacle of innovation and achievement in hip hop music,” said Tom Calderone, Executive Vice President and General Manager, VH1. “This year’s five honorees are no different and are being recognized for their significant contributions to hip hop culture and for helping to elevate hip hop into a truly global phenomenon.”

Introducing this year’s honorees:

• Cypress Hill: With a driving rhyme style and brutally infectious production, this L.A. based collective brought a welcomed Latino perspective to hip hop storytelling, creating records like “Insane in the Brain” that crossed all barriers and gave Cypress Hill fans in the rock, as well as, rap world.

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• De La Soul: This Long Island trio brought a playful, smart, and off-center style to hip hop, while pushing their suburban and bohemian sensibility to the fore. Their innovative sound has influenced not only other MCs, but helped inspire the entire underground movement in the culture.

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• Naughty By Nature: Led by the strident style of lead MC Treach, Naughty By Nature brought New Jersey hip hop into the mainstream by creating hit singles than became anthems for a generation. “OPP” and “Hip Hop Hooray” are two of the most popular records in rap history.

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• Slick Rick: With vivid storytelling and unique rhyme style Slick Rick has always been one of the most unique and influential figures in the culture’s history. When you combine Rick’s MC gifts with his gold chains, eye patch and regal clothing the result is a figure who embodies the fun, the danger and the flavor that is hip hop.

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• Too $hort: Too $hort started his career in the ’80s selling 12-inch singles full of freaky tales on his own indie label in Oakland and has remained true to his raw style, in the process becoming a legend in the game while staying true to his hard core values.

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  Additionally, on September 16 VH1.com will launch its dedicated “VH1 Hip Hop Honors” Web site with honoree profiles, exclusive online programming, show information and more at HipHop.VH1.com. Additional VH1.com and VH1 Mobile efforts around “VH1 Hip Hop Honors” will be announced in the coming weeks.

  “VH1 Hip Hop Honors” is executive produced by Lee Rolontz for VH1 and Jac Benson for Blackjac Entertainment. Louis J. Horvitz will direct. Nelson George and Fab Five Freddie are co-executive producers.

  Peep the official website - [VH1.com]

Rap icon Slick Rick has been fighting deportation by the Federal Immigration Court for years and today, the 43-your-old rapper might have scored a victory in the matter, as New York Governor David A. Paterson issued the Hip-Hop pioneer an official pardon.

Born Ricky Walters in the United Kingdom, Rick's immigration troubles stem from a1991 conviction on two counts of attempted murder and weapons offences. A federal statute requires resident aliens to be removed from the country upon conviction of an aggravated felony or a weapon offence. Rick came to the U.S. at age 11 and was raised in the Bronx, New York.

"Mr. Walters has fully served the sentence imposed upon him for his convictions, had an exemplary disciplinary record while in prison and on parole, and has been living without incident in the community for more than 10 years," said Governor Paterson. "In that time, he has volunteered at youth outreach programs to counsel youth against violence, and has become a symbol of rehabilitation for many young people. Given these demonstrated rehabilitative efforts, I urge federal immigration officials to once again grant Mr. Walters relief from deportation, so that he is not separated from his many family members who are United States citizens, including his two teenage children."

In 1991 Slick Rick shot his cousin and an innocent bystander in response to what he claims were death threats from his family member. The cousin and the bystander both survived the incident and Rick, then 25 years old, plead guilty to attempted murder and weapons charges. He served just over five years in prison and was released in 1997.

"My family and I are eternally thankful to Governor Paterson, my attorneys Michael Krinsky and Craig Kaplan at Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman and to all of the people who have supported me throughout the past seventeen years," Slick Rick told AllHipHop in a statement. "This has been a long and difficult road and I am happy for this to be settled once and for all. I look forward to enjoying this time with my family and friends and to continue leading an honest and productive life."