Chuck D., Kid Rock, Grandmaster Flash To Honor JMJ

Chuck D., Kid Rock and Grandmaster Flash will honor the late Jam Master Jay in a tribute at the VH1 Big in 2002 Awards in Los Angeles. The ceremony, which is scheduled to air December 14 on VH1, will also include a Lifetime Achievement Award presentation to Run-DMC. The group announced their retirement shortly after […]

Chuck D., Kid Rock and Grandmaster Flash will

honor the late Jam Master Jay in a tribute at the VH1 Big in 2002 Awards in

Los Angeles.

The ceremony, which is scheduled to air December

14 on VH1, will also include a Lifetime Achievement Award presentation to Run-DMC.

The group announced their retirement shortly after Jay was murdered.

Chuck D. was allotted 2 minutes to pay tribute

to the fallen legend. Here are portions of his speech.

"He always had a welcome mat for anybody

who wanted to rap and do it right. He always helped out the brand-new cats.

With his heart, skill and belief, he was the overall embodiment of a commitment

to the elements of hip-hop.

But Jay being a nice guy doesn’t change the climate

and atmosphere he lived in. Many people feel the culture has been mishandled

by people who have benefited financially by saying violence and thug life best

represents the attention span of rap itself. Some have found a way to live well

from it, while not respecting the responsibility that comes with it. For the

sake of those who live in the hood by keeping it real by doing the right thing,

that one sided projection has to change.

We talk about the gigantic losses music suffered

in the ’90s with the deaths of Cobain and Biggie and Tupac — Run-DMC influenced

all of them. Think on that. Run-DMC is our Beatles. They had the first rap album

to reach the top ten. They had the first rap album to hit #1 on the R&b

chart. Just as the Beatles broke the mold in the 1960s, Run-DMC did in the 1980s.

Every rap act since owes them a debt of gratitude."