Tomorrow (September 12), MTV will be hosting its annual Video Music Awards from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, at 8 p.m. ET. There, performances from Nicki Minaj and Olivia Rodrigo will be woven into the show, which will also include a ceremony for Diddy, who will be rewarded with the prestigious Global Icon award.
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To cap off the night, though, Billboard reported that the VMAs will present a special tribute to hip-hop to celebrate the genre’s 50th anniversary. Similar to how the Grammys did so earlier this year, the VMAs will put together a performance including hip-hop icons like LL Cool J, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run-DMC, Grandmaster Flash, Lil Wayne, and Nicki Minaj, who is also serving as an emcee for the event.
This grand finale will be separate from Wayne and Minaj’s respective performances earlier in the show, where they’ll each perform their recent singles “Kat Food” and “Last Time I Saw You.”
According to Billboard, this will be McDaniels’ first time gracing the stage at the VMAs since 1987, when he was joined by the other members of Run-DMC and Aerosmith to perform their smash hit collaboration “Walk This Way.” Additionally, this will be LL Cool J’s first performance at the ceremony in more than two decades, even though he served as one of the emcees last year.
[RELATED: American Songwriter’s Top 50 Rappers, One for Each Year of Hip-Hop]
Earlier this year, DMC and Wayne both participated in the Hip-Hop 50 Live festival at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, which was hosted by Nas’ entertainment company Mass Appeal. Also, alongside other legends like Public Enemy, Ice-T, Queen Latifah, Big Boi, Busta Rhymes, Future, Melle Mel, Rakim, Lil Baby, Method Man, Nelly, and more, DMC, Wayne and Grandmaster Flash participated in the aforementioned “50 years of Hip-Hop” performance at the Grammys.
Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
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