The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) is Kanye West's stage. It has been the setting of some of the hip hop star's most incredible performances and infamous stunts. This year, the MTV VMAs will present West one of the award show's biggest honors - the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.

West is in impressive company as he joins a number of influential artists who have won the lifetime achievement award, including Madonna, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, the Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel, Guns N' Roses, Beastie Boys, and Michael Jackson.

According to MTV.com, the rapper will receive the honor for "years of releasing groundbreaking music and accompanying videos that have always pushed the envelope." Notable singles such as "Through the Wire," "Runaway," and "Bound 2," and memorable VMA performances like "Jesus Walks/All Falls Down/Through The Wire" and "Jesus Walks/All Falls Down/Through The Wire" make West an integral part of the music industry and VMAs year after year.

Along with his artistic accomplishments are some of West's notorious exploits, which are almost as celebrated as his music. Most famously, West is remembered for the 2009 show when he hopped onstage and interrupted Taylor Swift's Best Female Video speech to declare that his close friend Beyonce should have been the winner instead.

Aside from West receiving the prestigious award, the audience can look forward to a great lineup of live performances during the awards show. According to a report from Variety, among the artists who will be onstage during the VMAs are Pharrell, Demi Lovato, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Tori Kelly, A$AP Rocky and Twenty One Pilots. Fans of The Weeknd can enjoy a performance of hit single "Can't Feel My Face."

The biggest award of the evening is Video of the Year, which some of the industry's biggest names will be competing for, including Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar and Mark Ronson.

Miley Cyrus will be hosting the show. It's a selection that has sparked some controversy among certain crowds who are concerned at the negative impact on the youth.

"MTV has a long history of courting controversy with its programming, but especially with the VMAs," Melissa Henson, director of grassroots education and advocacy for the advocacy group, said in an interview with The Blaze. "This year's host, Miley Cyrus, made headlines by pretending to masturbate with a giant foam finger and by grinding against Robin Thicke's crotch during a joint performance."

She added, "If this year's VMAs are in any way like last year's, or the previous year's, and if MTV rates the program as appropriate for fourteen-year-olds despite the presence of adult content, the PTC will be taking action. We will be identifying the companies that helped to pay for that content and urging our members to contact them."

Tune in to the 2015 MTV VMAs on Sunday, August 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.