Dave Chappelle, Busta Rhymes, Queen Latifah, and more assembled to induct A Tribe Called Quest into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The legendary rap group, represented by Q-Tip, Jarobi White, and the late Phife Dawg’s parents, attended the ceremony to accept their induction and witness A-list talent pay tribute to their groundbreaking impact on music and popular culture.
Chapelle, who inducted the group, introduced a video featuring André 3000, Mike D, and Questlove, who spoke of the group’s lasting imprint on hip-hop culture.
Chappelle shared how the group helped him during his hiatus from Hollywood.
“Years ago, in a tough time in my life, I read a Chinese proverb that changed my life. And the proverb said that the best meal you can cook is made with ingredients that you already have,” Chappelle told the audience. “And this proverb reminds me of hip-hop, and this proverb reminds me, in particular, of Tribe because Tribe was born out of friendship.”
After Chappelle’s speech, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, the Roots,
Queen Latifah, Common, and Spliff Star hit the stage to perform a medley of Tribe classics. Queen Latifah performed “Can I Kick It?” ahead of Black Thought and De La Soul’s Posdnous performing “Check the Rhime.” Common rapped the lyrics to the classic “Bonita Applebum,” and Busta Rhymes, who appeared with Leaders of the New School on Tribe’s 1992 hit “Scenario,” rapped alongside Spliff Star to a fusion of the original and the remix.Following the set, Q-Tip, White, and Phife Dawg’s parents (Ali Shaheed Muhammad was not present) shared how important the moment was for them.
“What’s more rock and roll than the blues? But just like our predecessors, we had to find spaces on the outskirts of cities and towns, from a Southern sun house off Robert Johnson Crossroads to a transformed room in a hood tenement on Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx,” Q-Tip said.
“The need to express burns in us with an art-fueled determination. A spark. The spark that embers within many of us in this room, and the spark that burned within the four of us boys in 1985 in New York City.”
Other 2024 inductees included Mary J. Blige and Kool & the Gang.
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