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The sole rap act to be honored tonight was A Tribe Called Quest.
After the group’s snub last year, rapper Consequence called out the Hall Of Fame for continuing to pass them over, calling the institution “a white popularity contest.” Tribe were inducted by Dave Chappelle and saluted with a performance from a crew of fellow ‘90s hip-hop icons. Queen Latifah kicked things off with “Can I Kick It?” alongside the Roots’ Black Thought and De La Soul’s Posdnous before Common joined for “Bonita Applebum.” And Busta Rhymes rapped “Scenario,” the classic 1992 posse cut his old group Leaders Of The New School recorded with the honorees. ATCQ’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad did not attend the event and Phife Dawg passed away in 2016. The remaining members Q-Tip and Jarobi White accepted on the group’s behalf.
The Queen Of Hip-Hop Soul Mary J. Blige was inducted after first being eligible in 2017 and first being nominated in 2021. She was introduced by Dr. Dre and Method Man and sang “My Life” with Lucky Daye and “Love No Limit” with Ella Mai before running through “Be Happy” and the Dre-produced “Family Affair” (a #1 hit in 2001). She previously inducted Nina Simone back in 2018 and accepting her award tonight she said, “This whole time I was building to be a rockstar and now I am.” Blige has a new album coming November 15 called Gratitude.
Ozzy Osbourne was already a member of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, having entered with Black Sabbath in 2006 after over a decade of eligibility. As a solo artist he released 13 studio albums and yesterday he announced a $600 18xLP box set highlighting that catalog. Jack Black (who has covered Sabbath’s “Crazy Train” with the currently-on-hold Tenacious D) gave the induction speech. “He invented a genre [and] had the greatest second act come back in rock history,” declared the actor before saying that Osbourne popularizing reality TV was “maybe the most evil thing he ever did.” Osbourne has been dealing with Parkinson’s and other health problems and did not perform, but he watched on as a bunch of rockers paid tribute. Maynard James Keenan sang “Crazy Train” with Wolfgang Van Halen on guitar. (“This song is out of my range, so I’m going to be struggling to hit the notes but I got the call so I answered,” the Tool frontman said earlier this week.) The omnipresent Jelly Roll, who is battling Charli XCX for next week’s #1 album, took on “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” and Billy Idol sang “No More Tears.” Osbourne’s band members Zakk Wylde (guitar) and Adam Wakeman (keyboards) performed too, as did his onetime bassist now Metallica member Robert Trujillo, plus producer/guitarist Andrew Watt, Idol’s guitarist Steve Stevens, and returning RHCP member Smith. “If I’d hadn’t have met Randy Rhoads, I don’t think I’d be sitting here now,” Osbourne said in his speech about his late guitarist and co-songwriter who died in 1982 and was inducted in the Musical Excellence category in 2021.
@radioalphafm Em homenagem ao lendário Ozzy Osbourne, Maynard James Keenan canta ‘Crazy Train’, lançada em 1980 no álbum Blizzard of Ozz. Essa faixa icônica não só marcou a carreira de Ozzy, mas também se tornou um hino do rock, abordando a luta contra a loucura! #OzzyOsbourne #CrazyTrain #RockandRollHallofFame ♬ som original – Rádio Alpha FM
Dave Matthews Band closed out the ceremony and were inducted by a Dave-t-shirt-wearing Julia Roberts, who as I’m sure you know starred in their 2005 video for the song “Dreamgirl.” Dave Matthews, Carter Beauford, Stefan Lessard, LeRoi Moore, and Boyd Tinsley were the five founding members inducted. Saxophonist Moore passed away in 2008 after an ATV accident and violinist Tinsley split with the group a decade later amid sexual harassment allegations against him. The Charlottesville, VA jam band won the fan vote in 2020 but didn’t make it onto the ballot that year, the first time that had ever happened since the public was asked to vote in 2013. (The top five artists chosen in the fan vote are submitted as a single ballot, so the public’s choice never carries that much weight.) DMB topped the fan vote again in 2024 and this time they got in. They played “Ants Marching” (from their 1994 breakthrough Under The Table And Dreaming) plus “Crash Into Me,” “So Much To Say,” and “Too Much” — the singles from their 1996 followup LP Crash. As an encore they did “Burning Down The House,” covering the Talking Heads hit for the first time since 2018.
Those were the inductees in the Performer category. Also entering the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame tonight were Big Mama Thornton, Alexis Korner, and John Mayall in the Musical Influence category; the MC5, Dionne Warwick, Jimmy Buffett, and Norman Whitfield in the Musical Excellence category; and Motown executive Suzanne de Passe as recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Tom Morello, who was the only Rage Against The Machine member to show up when the band was inducted last year, gave the speech inducting MC5. Friday saw the release of Heavy Lifting, the band’s first album in 53 years, though guitarist Wayne Kramer and drummer Dennis Thompson both passed away earlier this year. Backstage Morello told the media, “I’d like to see the organization go get Iron fucking Maiden in.”
Teyana Taylor inducted Warwick, who sang “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” with Jennifer Hudson as well as “Walk On By,” which Doja Cat sampled on a #1 hit last year.
The late Jimmy Buffett was inducted by Matthews, who reprised his “A Pirate Looks At Forty” cover, and by Kenny Chesney, James Taylor, and Mac McAnally with a take on “Come Monday.” “He was larger than life, but somehow at the same time, always right-sized, and always authentic,” Taylor said in his speech.
The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony aired live on Disney+ and will be available to watch on Hulu. Congrats to all of this year’s inductees and to Flavor Flav for getting social content with every celebrity in Cleveland.
@flavorflav Julia Roberts,,, she knew whi i was and some how I’m still alive.