VH1 Honors Queen Latifah, Lil’ Kim, Missy Elliot and Salt-N-Pepa

VH1 recognized the accomplishments of women rap icons Queen Latifah, Lil’ Kim, Missy Elliot and Salt-N-Pepa at its Hip Hop Honors event held Monday night.

VH1 Hip Hop Honors

Last night, VH1 Hip Hop Honors aired for the first time in six years. This time around, since it honored women in the rap game, it was titled the “All Hail the Queens” event. VH1 had tapped Eve, who was heavily influenced by all of the women being honored, to host the proceedings. She declared during the night, “Women been hip-hop, women are hip-hop, and women will always be hip-hop.”

WATCH: Eve uINTERVIEW: On Hosting ‘All Hail The Queens,’ Being A Female Rapper [Video]

Queen Latifah was at the center of the tribute for her work in hip-hop. She performed a medley that included “Come Into My House,” “Latifah’s Had It Up 2 Here,” and “Ladies First.” She also sang her track “U.N.I.T.Y.” Among those helping to celebrate her career were Da Brat, MC Lyte and Monie Love.

 

There to pay tribute to Missy Elliot were Fantasia, Monica and Tweet, who emphasized her work as a producer behind the scenes. The trio performed “Free Yourself,” “So Gone,” and “Oops (Oh My),” respectively.

 

Lil’ Kim was surprised to see Diddy walk out onstage to honor her. The hip-hop mogul had told the female MC that he had a prior engagement, but had planned on being there all along. In his sprawling remarks he said of Kim, “With your style…you changed the female MC game…and became one of the biggest international stars in rap history,” adding, “Kim made rap feminine and sexy, stylish and hardcore all at the same time.”

 

Eve, Ashanti, Dreezy and Keke Palmer all took part in the celebration of Salt-N-Pepa’s hits, including “Shoop,” “Whatta Man,” and “Push It.”