AP Fabolous, Diddy and Q-Tip.

For three years, the cable station has been putting on "VH1 Hip Hop Honors," a show that delivers hosannas for hip-hop. The basic set up is this: a bunch of greats from the hip-hop pantheon are picked to be honored. There's a big performance. Other people do covers of these performers songs. The artist comes out and drops some songs. The stage fills with a mixture of performers present and past kicking it. It's innovative. And fun. And totally positive.

This year, the honorees include the Beastie Boys, Ice Cube, Wu-Tang Clan, MC Lyte, Afrika Bambaataa, Rakim, Eazy-E and Russell Simmons. CARYN BROOKS and JONATHAN DREW went to the taping and offer a preview of what you can expect to see when the show airs for the first time on Oct. 17 at 9 pm.

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What worked:

80s style Beastie Boys

Meanwhile, Diddy, Fabolous and Q-Tip donned track suits to knock out early Beastie Boys fodder. Having three of the smoothest characters in rap deliver early hits by the nerd-rap godfathers was silly great.

And the filmed intro piece that had host Ice-T break away from a "Law & Order" shoot to meet with a mysterious man named Mike who ended up being New York mayor Michael Bloomberg was hilarious.

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What didn't:

The show needs to find a better way to honor non-performers. The tribute to hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons was built around a flaccid, boo-inducing roast from a Def Comedy Jam veteran (more on that below) and a recital by a Def Poetry Jam poet, which received lukewarm crowd response.

Neither Def show represents Simmons' key contribution to hip-hop: founding Def Jam recordings; or his most visible current enterprise, Phat Farm clothing. The Simmons portion felt like an anomaly among the live rap performances and seemed hastily thrown together. A shame considering his contribution to the game.

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The art of the show:

You have to give VH1 props for really paying attention to the details of this event. They could easily get by on the star power that fuels the proceedings, but instead they invest in the aesthetics of the show.

Last year they hired celebrated artist Kehinde Wiley to create classically-styled portraits of the honorees . This year they asked honorees to choose a location that most represented them and had photographer Michael Wong to shoot them and superimposed their image over that of the locations. So, we saw the Wu-Tang Clan in front of Staten Island projects, Ice Cube with the Los Angeles skyline and the Beastie Boys in front of the World's Fair Unisphere in Queens, New York. Beyond being just beautiful, the portraits tap into the hip-hop tradition of representing slices of the map.

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Why this show works more for hip-hop than rock:

VH1 also does a similar show for rock, but it's is not nearly as good as this one. Why? Because hip-hop does not have its own hall of fame and with no inductees so far into the established Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (which includes soul and R&B artists) the rap game has lacked a prominent way of memorializing its pioneers. VH1 stepped into that void three years ago.

Hip-hop longevity is almost an oxymoron. Compared to other American music, the genre is still young, and hip-hoppers tend not to age well (we're NOT talking to you, LL Cool J). Their messages of virility, gangsterness and promiscuity often seem silly with age.

Prominent rappers of the 1980s have had trouble maintaining the popularity and marketability of their rock peers. Many of the honorees have been out of the spotlight (and our minds) for a while. Last year, Big Daddy Kane came out of hiding to blow the house down and this year MC Lyte poked her head out again to remind us how mighty she is on the mic, making for exhilarating TV. On the other hand, rock gods keep on going. And going. And going. And snooooooooze.

Also, in hip-hop it's rare to see performers do full on covers of other people's work (they obviously sample bits and pieces all the time) so it's refreshing to see full covers in this show's context. Rock covers are an established part of that culture and ho-hum.

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That's da' bombastic:

Most awards shows have their share of hyperbole. Put that culture together with the already bombastic landscape of hip-hop and...watch out. MC Lyte declares herself the best female MC ever. Common calls Rakim: "The greatest lyricist of all time." Someone else claims that "rock and jazz and blues never gave as much as hip-hop to their communities." Easy-E is tagged the godfather of Gangsta rap. Ice Cube is described as defining "gangsta." Afrika Bambaataa is crowned the godfather of hip-hop. And so on. Think the Shins will change your life? Not a chance according to these people.

There is one moment of noticeable humility: Ice Cube tells the crowd that fellow honoree Easy-E was "the mastermind" behind NWA, giving his dead bandmate kudos for devising all the important elements of this highly influential hip-hop group and not taking credit himself. No word on what Dr. Dre has to say about that.

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Haterade for the old school:

One of the first things host Ice-T says: "This ain't no old school show." However, he does make clear that he is an OG or Original Gangsta. When the Wu-Tang Clan hits the stage, Method Man wears a t-shirt that reads: "I'm not ol' skool." So, even though old school is influencing the new school and even though the whole purpose of this show is to celebrate the influencers of hip-hop, no one wants to hold claim to old school. But obviously they're not if they're on that stage. Oy, it makes your head hurt just trying to decipher it all.

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Hip-hop? Think we need a dictionary?:

Every performer seemed to want to define hip-hop from the stage. There were multiple definitions offered of what hip-hop is, but they're all the same. Yes, we get it: hip-hop is "the culture." "A way of life." "The way we live." Guys, give us a break -- do you think rockers feel the need to define what the term "rock 'n' roll" is every second? Stop: it makes you look insecure.

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What you won't see on TV:

Here's a recap:

— One of the mics went dead during the Beastie Boys' performance of "So Whatcha Want," at first sending a black-clad producer scurrying across the stage with a new mic. Finally, the music was cut altogether and another producer called for a "do-over," eliciting boos from the crowd. However, the Beasties took the stage and tore through the song with as much spontaneity as the first take had.

— Comedian Adele Givens drew boos with crappy jokes about Simmons wearing platform shoes and the mogul's breakup from wife Kimora. Breaking from the script, she regained Def Comedy Jam form and drew laughs when she admonished the crowd, "I'm not writing this (insert obscenity here). Holler at the writers, bitch."

asap arts and entertainment editor Caryn Brooks thinks there's nothing shameful about repping the old school. asap reporter Jonathan Drew reps the new.

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