Last night's annual "VH1 Hip-Hop Honors" show tipped its pimp hat to Def Jam Records, perhaps the most influential hip-hop company in history. When Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons launched Def Jam from Rubin's NYU dorm room 25 years ago, they surely could not have anticipated that they would nurture some of the greatest talent the hip-hop world has ever seen, from LL Cool J and Public Enemy to Ludacris and Young Jeezy.

In addition to more than two decades of killer music, artists on the Def Jam label have also focused on having a keen visual sense. As a result, some of the clips the label has put out over the years have become cornerstones of the video genre. From the punk-rock simplicity of the Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)" and LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out" to the grimy savagery of Redman's "Blow Your Mind" and Onyx's "Slam" to the widescreen gloss of Young Jeezy's "My President" and Rick Ross' "Magnificent," Def Jam videos have been eclectic and occasionally surreal but always memorable.

Def Jam's video history reveals some interesting wrinkles in the label's history. For example, Slayer's iconic album Reign in Blood was originally put out by the label (not shocking, considering Rubin's affinity for metal) and "Raining Blood" makes for a fascinating entry in the label's history. And even though Def Jam was always primarily identified as an East Coast label, they put out one of the bigger records of the early-'90s West Coast gangsta era in Warren G's Regulate ... G-Funk Era, which meant that the clip for "Regulate" (featuring a breakout performance from Nate Dogg) was a Def Jam original.

So take a look at the 20 videos that make up Def Jam's history, from oft-forgotten clips like Oran "Juice" Jones' "The Rain" and EPMD's "Headbanger" to more high-profile clips like Sisquo's "Thong Song," Ja Rule's "Holla Holla" and, of course, the Beastie Boys.

The giant grandfather clock in the MTV Newsroom will sound its final bells at any moment, which means it's time to remedy that terrible short-term memory and take a look back at the week that was here on the Newsroom blog. As the calendar switched from September to October and the fall weather began to descend, Kanye West remained in the headlines, Madonna ate pizza and zombies were everywhere. Want to have an instant nostalgia trip? Just keep reading.

» The "Fame Kills" tour — starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga — got put on the back burner, but that won't stop Gaga from doing her own shows.

» Madonna and David Letterman had a civil interview and then sat down for a slice.

» Jennifer Hudson celebrated the anniversary of "The Wizard of Oz" with a stirring rendition of "Over the Rainbow" live in Central Park.

» Adam Lambert has already sold a ton of albums, even though the record in question has no title or single. But that's okay, because he's driving people to donate to public schools.

» Before she got sick and had to cancel a bunch of Paramore shows, Hayley Williams wore a tank top on "The Tonight Show" that looked awfully familiar to us.
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Rappers testing their mettle in the sports world isn't new (remember Master P's brief attempt to break into the NBA with the Hornets?), but DMX's sojourn into the world of athletics might be the most intense yet. X will head to Alabama in December to step into a cage for a mixed martial arts fight. His opponent is a guy named Eric Martinez, a member of X's management team who actually has one professional MMA win under his belt.

X has never fought before, though he's no stranger to the UFC, as Chuck Liddell, the organization's most high-profile champion during its rise, used a DMX song as his entrance music for many of his biggest fights. As more and more former NFL players turn to the fight game (1982 Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker just signed a fight contract), rappers won't be far behind. Here are the five other MCs who should learn a little jiu-jitsu and step into the cage.

Juelz Santana
The former Dipset member participated in BET's "The Iron Ring," a reality show that combined hip-hop and MMA. Though his team didn't come out on top in the end, Santana showed a nose for the game and has deceptive size that could help him master a little kickboxing.
Entrance Song: "Mic Check," because this is pay-per-view!

No sleep 'til Brooklyn. During rush hour, it takes about 90 minutes to get from Manhattan to BK, but horrendous traffic couldn't deter stars current and past from the Def Jam label from traveling to the world's most popular borough for VH1's sixth annual "Hip-Hop Honors." Right in the heart of Crooklyn at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the red carpet for the event was filled with heat (literally — it felt like it was about 120 degrees) and love.

KRS-One must have hugged former Def Jam franchise player DMX on the carpet. The Blastmaster said a definitive "Him!" and pointed to X when asked who was one of the artists that defined the label over the years.

Meanwhile, there's clearly no more bad blood between Ashanti and Ja Rule, as she smiled brightly when talking about performing with her former Murder Inc. labelmate.

Ludacris arrived with Player's Circle and Titi Boy took home the award for flashiest bling with a iced-out 747 hanging off of his chest.

As the carpet came to a close, Method Man ran into Kid Rock and the compliments went flying. Meanwhile, Fabolous said hello to fellow BK native Foxy Brown. Inside, Foxy and Onyx's Sticky Fingaz exchanged numbers before going to their seats.

Check out the rest of our "VH1 Hip-Hop Honors" photo gallery, featuring Ludacris, Kid Rock, Ghostface, Chuck D, Trey Songz and Flavor Flav! And be sure to check out the show, which airs on VH1 on Tuesday, October 13 at 9 p.m.!

This weekend, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will make its way to Dallas for a show headlined by a catchweight match between Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort. Watching UFC remains a favorite pastime in the Newsroom (as well as at Hayley Williams' house), and this weekend's card looks like it'll be a satisfying sleeper. Franklin and Belfort are both former champions trying to re-establish themselves as contenders in a crowded field. But no matter what the tale of the tape says, everybody knows the difference between sweet victory and crushing defeat comes down to a single criterion: Who has the better entrance music?

It's worked well for a number of fighters. Brock Lesnar used Mötley Crüe's "Shout at the Devil" as his music in his first fight (which he lost in 90 seconds), switched to Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and hasn't lost since, becoming the heavyweight champion in the process. Chuck Liddell rode DMX's breathless, borderline-psychotic intro to It's Dark and Hell is Hot to a championship run, while Matt Huges has won a staggering 43 fights in his career, many with the assistance of Hank Williams, Jr.'s "A Country Boy Can Survive."

So who will walk away as the winner of the main event Saturday night in Dallas? One would think that Belfort has a leg up, as he has a wacky custom-made theme, which is always good for bonus points. But Franklin has a hell of a counter, as he has used both Cypress Hill's "(Rock) Superstar" (an underrated adrenaline-pumper) and AC/DC's "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)," easily one of the ten greatest rock songs ever written.

A good try, Vitor, but Franklin will have the power of the cannons behind him.

The new season of "Dancing With the Stars" is coming up soon, and the new cast has been announced. It includes R&B singer Mya, rock and roll scion Kelly Osbourne, spacey Macy Gray, Aaron Carter and former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin (following in the footsteps of former teammate Emmitt Smith). But there is one new member of the cast who intrigues me the most, and that is former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell. The MMA fighter recently retired from the cage, having lost four of his last five fights (including two via devastating knockouts at the hands of Rashad Evans and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua).

Though the kickboxer and wrestler is more used to throwing overhand rights than doing the tango, Liddell should be great on "Dancing With the Stars." Think about it: He has a tremendous amount of strength, stamina, coordination and flexibility. In the past, athletes have fared very well on the show (including championship runs from Smith, gymnast Shawn Johnson and figure skaters Kristi Yamaguchi and Apolo Anton Ohno). Liddell should go deep — besides, wouldn't everybody be afraid of giving him negative feedback? The dude is huge!

Of course, he also knows music. He has appeared in music videos by Nickelback and American Head Charge. During his fighting career, Liddell used the intro to DMX's album It's Dark and Hell is Hot as his entrance music. While it seems unlikely that Chuck will be dancing to any X tracks on the show, I hope he walks to the stage to the song every time he goes to compete. And with several million people watching per week, it's sure to get people interested in the missing-in-action rapper's back catalog. And with tracks like "Party Up," who can blame them?

It's been a while since we heard any new music from DMX, but the troubled rapper dropped an unexpected freestyle on Thursday outside the courtroom where he pleaded not guilty to a pair of felony theft charges related to a hospital visit in April. "If and when you ever fall down/ Get back up/ Drop something/ Stop fretting/ Pick that ... back up," went the rhyme X delivered to reporters covering the case. He's accused of using a fake name during a trip to the Scottsdale, Arizona, Mayo Clinic.

What do you think of X's courthouse flow? Will it help get him off the hook?

DMX can't seem to stay on the straight and narrow.

After a string of arrests, the rapper was busted once more in Miami on Friday (June 27) for reportedly trying to buy cocaine and marijuana, according to TMZ. X (real name: Earl Simmons) was just arrested on Monday for driving without a valid driver's license.

In May, the MC was arrested for speeding after being caught on camera going 114 mph. Just days after that, he was busted on animal-cruelty and drug-possession charges after detectives raided his Arizona home; he pleaded not guilty to the 11 charges on May 16.

The real question after hearing his rap sheet is, how is he still free? We'll keep you up to date if X runs into any more trouble.

· The jury's still out on what Amy Winehouse's early-stage emphysema diagnosis means, but it's still shocking that the singer was apparently photographed smoking on Monday after her dad revealed that she might be suffering from the deadly lung disease.
 
· He's been caught impersonating a federal agent and busting through a security gate, popped by traffic cameras for allegedly setting land speed records in a car with his name written across the windshield and just about every other driving offense you could imagine. So it wasn't surprising to hear that DMX (born Earl Simmons) was arrested Monday afternoon in Miami on a warrant for not having a driver's license. Read more...

Crimes and courts edition

· Ex-Phish frontman Trey Anastasio caught a break on Wednesday, when a judge reduced his sentence to three years' probation after the singer successfully completed a drug-court program.

· Kanye West, Method Man, Redman, Common and their record labels were sued Thursday by the estate of late jazz musician Joe Farrell, for allegedly sampling "Upon This Rock" without permission.

· Good news for troubled rapper DMX: A judge vacated a $1.5 million judgment that was brought against him in January after a jury sided with a woman who claimed the MC defamed her in a magazine interview.

· Phil Spector will suit up again on September 29 when his retrial on murder charges begins.

· Poison drummer Rikki Rockett has been exonerated on a felony rape charge in Mississippi. Turns out he wasn't even in the state when the incident took place.