Wednesday’s Grammy Nominations Concert Live will honor both past and present, with the help of hot performers from today and yesterday.
LL Cool J returns to host another night of Grammy nominations and rocking performances this Wednesday. The Grammy Nominations Concert Live will feature live music from Jason Aldean, Lady Gaga, Ludacris, Rihanna, Valerie Simpson, Mike Stoller, Sugarland, The Band Perry, Usher, Common, Lupe Fiasco, Rick Ross, Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel and Scorpio, including an all-star hip-hop collab of “The Message.”
With Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Taraji P. Henson and Taylor Lautner on hand to announce 2011 Grammy nominees in several categories, the one-hour special is all about the music, from country to hip-hop.
The newest addition to the pre-Grammy party on Wednesday is a crew of hip-hop heavies from past and present who will come together to perform 2012 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee “The Message.” Rappers LL Cool J (above left), Lupe Fiasco (above right), Common and Rick Ross will join DJ Grandmaster Flash (above middle) and Furious Five members Melle Mel and Scorpio on stage to perform Grandmaster Flash and Furious Five’s seminal rap recording, which was also one of the first tracks to come out of the late ‘Godmother of Hip-Hop’ Sylvia Robinson‘s Sugar Hill Records.
Usher will take the stage for a tribute to songwriters, along with legendary scribes Valerie Simpson (of Ashford and Simpson) and Mike Stoller (of Leiber & Stoller), who both lost their writing partners this year.
The night will also feature a live announcement from an iconic band regarding their historic reunion, which is set to take place at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012.
The Grammy Nominations Concert Live! — Countdown to Music’s Biggest Night will be broadcast from the Nokia Theatre L.A. live on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 10 p.m. on CBS. The special will air live for the east coasters, but live delayed for other time zones.
This year, for the first time ever, music fans can check out backstage coverage and reactions to the nominations by logging on to www.livestream.com/thegrammys immediately following the live telecast (11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT).
Grammy NOm preview: Hear “The Message”
You don’t have to be a hip-hop aficionado to recognize “The Message.” Check out this flashback clip of Grandmaster Flash performing their single in 1983.
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Images courtesy of Kat Goduco/WENN, Tina Paul /WENN and WENN
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