Jay-Z was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last night by Dave Chappelle. Before diving into his speech, the comedian addressed his controversial Netflix special by opening with “I would like to apologize—I’m just fuckin’ with you.”
“It is an incredible honor to induct this next man into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame,” he continued. “But I need everybody in rock ’n’ roll to know, that even though you are honoring him, he is ours. He is hip-hop. For ever and ever, and a day.”
A pre-recorded video also included tributes from Beyoncé, Sean Combs, Chris Rock, LeBron James, Samuel L. Jackson, and Barack Obama.
“I’ve turned to Jay-Z’s words at different points in my life, whether I was brushing dirt off my shoulder on the campaign trail, or sampling his lyrics on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the 50th anniversary of the Selma march to Montgomery,” Obama said in his speech. “Today, Jay-Z is one of the most renowned artists in history and an embodiment of the American dream, a dream he has helped make real for other young people like him.”
Watch footage from the induction below.
JAY-Z induction continued with Dave Chappelle pic.twitter.com/07fVgKoBR8
— Dr. Bryan McGeary (@BMcgeary) October 31, 2021
Longer version because the first time didn’t upload?! #Beyonce #Rihanna #BarackObama #LebronJames and more tribute to #JayZ at the #RockAndRollHallofFameInduction #RockHall2021 #rockhallinduction @wkyc pic.twitter.com/JEBcpEjEEq
— Hope Sloop (@Hopesloop) October 31, 2021
One of the night’s highlights was Paul McCartney performing The Beatles’ “Get Together” with Foo Fighters, which you can watch here.
The Go-Go’s, Carole King, Todd Rundgren and Tina Turner were all inducted into the Rock Hall’s performer category. Additionally, in the Musical Excellence category, LL Cool J, Billy Preston and Randy Rhoads got the call to the hall while Kraftwerk, Gil Scott Heron and Charley Patton were tapped in the Early Influences category. Clarence Avant was inducted as the recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Award which honors non-performing individuals.
A film dedicated to the Rock Hall Class of 2021 will air on Nov. 20 on HBO.
