<H1>SNIPPET The Declining State of Black Entertainment Today: VH1 Hip Hop Awards 2007</H1>

This year’s VH-1 Hip Hop Honors was arguably the most tragic excuse of an award show I've seen all year.....and I watched the Oscars, the Grammys and the VMAs. Rather than hammer out a lengthy play by play of last night’s events, I’m going to focus on what I believed to be the biggest embarrassments to the honorees.

1.T-Pain.
During a tribute to the New Jack Swing era, T-Pain huffed his way through the Keith Sweat classic “I Want Her” without his trademark auto-tune. What brain surgeon of a programming director allowed this man to sing live? Not only did I discover that T-Pain has a dreadful voice, but the dude has zero stage presence.

2.Busta Rhymes
It was a cameo on A Tribe Called Quest’s “Scenario” that launched Busta Rhymes on a path towards international stardom. If you’ve ever seen a clip of Tribe and Leaders of the New School doing the track on the Arsenio Hall show, it’s pretty evident that a young Trevor Smith was on his way to much bigger things.
To see Busta Rhymes this evening was like seeing a drunk uncle wilin’ out on Tanqueray at a family party. He was fat, sloppy and fucking unintelligible. The man wasn't even trying to rap the verse that bought him fame and fortune. He was just screaming at the top of his lungs. The shit was just sorry.

3.Lupe Fiasco
There is no excuse for anyone to fumble the lyrics to “Electric Relaxation.” Especially not Phife’s verse. Period.

OK there was some good shit that went down.
The Highlights:
*Tracy Morgan rockin' a shearling coat and black Shelltoes.
*KRS-1...always a pleasure, sir.
*Ice-T's Crip-walkin
*Whodini doing “Friends”
*Harvey Keitel introducing Snoop Dogg
*A Tribe Called Quest closin’ out the show. Yes, Jarobi was there too. And yo, I had no idea that Phife was that short. Or maybe it's because Q-Tip is just really really tall.