The MTV Video Music Awards are just a few short days away, and though there is all sorts of buzz surrounding the performances, the parties and the New York-centric stunts that will be happening all this week into Sunday's broadcast, it's important to remember that the reason the biggest stars in music will gather in Radio City Music Hall is to see who wins the coveted Moonman in each of the 15 categories. We'll be taking a look at each of the top categories, continuing today with the Best Hip-Hop Video award. The nominees are Asher Roth's "I Love College," Eminem's "We Made You," Flo Rida's "Right Round," Jay-Z's "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" and Kanye West's "Love Lockdown."
The history of the Best Hip-Hop Video category is a little unusual, as it tends to err on the side of more far-reaching, esoteric tracks rather than club bangers or Jeep tracks. Past winners include Lil Wayne ("Lollipop," 2008), Missy Elliott ("Work It," 2003; "Lose Control," 2005) and Outkast ("Ms. Jackson," 2001). This year's nominees once again show the breadth of material addressed in this category. It features two relative newcomers and a trio of veterans in what could be the most interesting race on Sunday night.
Asher Roth (and his mustache) will be competing for his first ever Moonman this year. While he's still relatively new on the scene, Flo Rida already has two nominations under his belt (he was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Video and Best Male Video last year for "Low," losing to Lil Wayne and Chris Brown).
Sadly, Roth and Flo are working uphill against the three titans also in this category. Over his career, Kanye West has become a VMA staple, closing last year's show with a stirring rendition of the song whose video is nominated at this year's show and tallying 11 total nominations since he first broke out a few years ago. West has two wins: He picked up Best Male Video for "Jesus Walks" in 2005 and his "Good Life" clip won Best Special Effects at last year's show.
Since he was first nominated for a Moonman in 1999, Jay-Z has picked up 16 nominations with an astonishing nine wins. His big year was in 2004, when "99 Problems" won four awards, and he has taken home the Best Hip-Hop Video award twice in the past. You can probably count him as a frontrunner for the 2010 awards as well, as "Run This Town" is a pretty amazing clip.
Finally, there's Eminem, who in the past decade has become a cornerstone icon at the VMAs. He's delivered some of the most memorable performances in the show's history (remember the army of Mathers' in 2000?) and has been the recipient of nine total Moonmen in his career (including two nods for Best Hip-Hop).
The general debate appears to be between Eminem and Kanye West, but at the end of the day it seems like this award is Jay-Z's to lose.