Since its inception in 1996, we’ve seen The Daily Show evolve from Craig Kilborn’s vehicle to a by the numbers, nightly talk show, to the best political satire on TV. Yesterday, many a fan was understandably sad to hear Jon Stewart was leaving the flagship show after taking over hosting duties in 1999.
All good things must come to an end. Before the curtains close later this year, let’s look back at 16 Great Hip-Hop moments from The Daily Show.
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Photo: Comedy Central/Viacom
Tanya Morgan
Through a mutual connection with comedian and The Daily Show correspondent, Wyatt Cenac, Von Pea and Donwill co-produced the 2009 segment “Behind The Veil: The Kids Are Allah Right.”
Ed Lover
Ed Lover was one of the many Daily Show correspondents. He held it down from 1997 through 1998 with the “Ed Lover’s America” segment.
LL Cool J
As Mr. Smith was expanding his acting career, he came through to promote the move Rollerball in 2002. The appearance might have involved him putting his leg behind his head. Pause.
Snoop Dogg
Snoop came through on St. Patrick’s Day of 2010 to plug his More Malice album. When Stewart asked him about wearing green, Snoop explained how he wore all of his green on the inside. The easily could’ve made this a 4/20 episode.
Slim Thug Feels The Recession
Wyatt Cenac and Slim Thug spun a hilarious parody about dumb rapper stereotypes and the lingering effects of the 2009 economic crisis. Anyone who has witnessed Thugga’s dry wit and his real life fiscal savvy made this even funnier.
Wu-Tang Clan
It almost takes an act of Congress to get all nine members of Wu-Tang Clan together at the same time these days. Somehow, Jon Stewart made it happen. We not only got the Clan performing “Ron O’Neal,” but they stuck around for an extended interview too.
Queen Latifah
Jon and Queen Latifah had a Jersey moment. Or not. They did the Bankhead Bounce to “Baby Got Back” and talked about mammoth butts in relation to Ice Age 2: The Meltdown.
#McConnelling
Mitch McConnell made the mistake of releasing a creepy campaign ad. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen Stewart sag surfing to that ad while replacing the music with Sir Mix A Lot’s “Baby Got Back” or “What A Man” by Salt-N-Pepa.
Ice Cube
When he probably had a jheri curl, no one probably estimated Cube trading parenting tips with Jon Stewart. It was great to see Hip Hop mature on television, but Ice Cube reminded Stewart, “I’ll serve all y’all.” Notice the shameless plug for XXX: State Of The Union.
RZA
“You’re a Hip-Hop group, but there really is apparently some very serious thought that goes into what you’re putting out there and what you’re trying to accomplish.” That was in 2005. You’d think maybe some other mainstream media outlet would pick up on that sentiment in the ten years since RZA first set foot on The Daily Show to plug The Wu-Tang Manual.
Questlove
When John Oliver filled in for Stewart over the summer of 2014, Questlove appeared to plug his book, Mo Metta Blues. Viewers learned that Questo thinks Stevie Wonder’s cameo on The Cosby Show was one of Hip-Hop’s most influential moments.
Jay Z
Part of the genius of Stewart and Jay Z sharing the desk occurs when they cover everything from Rap being viewed as a respectable art form to anti authoritarianism in about a minute flat.
Busta Rhymes
Yes, that’s Busta promoting his now-defunct Bushi fashion line and looking like a patchwork, denim quilt. Remember that when Hip-Hop had money to blow and every emcee wanted to launch an acting career, Jon Stewart had a couch for them to chill on and promote their terrible movies like Halloween: Resurrection.
Tone Def Poetry Jam
“Maybe I’m being unfair by showing Fox News personalities holding a musician to a much higher standard of language and behavior than a potential Presidential candidate.” Yeah, it took less than 30 seconds to show just how absurd Fox News was being about Common’s “burning Bush” comment and his visit to the White House.
Ja Rule
At the height of his mainstream success (complete with a plug for the action flick Half Past Dead), Ja Rule was a guest on the show. He and Stewart talked about their inability to beat the Playstation 2 game Dead To Rights and that exact time as a parent when you get “screwed at Disneyland.”
Hov’s Honor
When Fox News does something incredibly stupid with racist undertones, Stewart drops the televised snark equivalent of a hydrogen bomb. Such was the case when Sean Hannity referred to Jay Z as a “former crack dealer.” What we got was a good five minute takedown assisted by Jessica Williams. Just for fun, Jon threw up the Roc diamond at the end.
