VH1's 6th annual VH1 Hip Hop Honors telecast last night was the most watched in the franchise's history, drawing 2.2 million viewers.
The special, which honored the 25th anniversary of Def Jam Records, nearly doubled the 1.1 million viewers who tuned into last year's event, according to VH1 officials. The show, which featured performances by Ashanti, DJ Chuck Chill Out, Ja Rule, KRS One, Ludacris, Mary J. Blige, Method Man, Kid Rock and Foxy Brown, also averaged a 1.5 rating in the network's target 18-49 demo, a 92% increase over last year's hip-hop themed celebration.
Overall Hip Hop Honors delivered the best performance for a major VH1 event since the network's telecast of the Concert For New York in October, 2001, according to the network.
Vh1 also drew big audiences for the show's lead-in, Behind The Music: 50 Cent. The hour-long profile of the controversial rap star garnered 1.6 million viewers, the second best performance ever for the series behind only a 1998 BTM episode featuring Shania Twain which drew 1.7 million viewers.
