Queen Latifah Introduced ‘The Forever Futurist’ Missy Elliott’s Historic Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction

The documentaries, events, and televised performances commemorating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary have given the culture’s pioneers with their long-deserved flowers. On Friday, November 3, Missy Elliott added another milestone to the culture’s impact after becoming the first female rapper to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.

During the ceremony, Queen Latifah took the stage at the Barclays Center to introduce her longtime friend. “Trust me, nothing sounded the same after Missy came on the scene,”said Latifah. “Nothing….everything changed – the bass lines changed, the pockets changed, the cadence, the writing. And that’s because Missy has always been a futurist, someone who’s always looking ahead.”

During Missy’s speech, she referred to several of the genre’s trailblazers, including Flavor Flav, Pepa (Salt-N-Pepa), and her longtime friend and collaborator Timbaland.

“There’s so many of y’all that are so legendary in here,” Elliott told the crowd. “This is the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. And so this is deeper than me just being up here. I was telling Robin [Roberts], you just feel like it’s so far to reach when you in the hip-hop world, and to be standing here, it means so much to me.”

For her live set, Missy performed a medley of her hits “Get Ur Freak Out,” “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” “Work It,” “Pass That Dutch,” and “Lose Control.”

LL Cool J Gave The ‘Larger Than Life’ DJ Kool Herc’s Induction Speech For The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

LL Cool J gave DJ Kool Herc an incredible tribute for his 2023 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction at the Brooklyn ceremony tonight. The speech started with LL Cool J looking back on how Kool Herc kicked off the origins of hip-hop by DJ’ing a party for his sister, Cindy Campbell. She was doing it to earn money for back-to-school clothes in 1973.

“We don’t know how much money Cindy managed to raise that day or what clothes she managed to buy but we know she changed the course of history, of music history,” LL Cool J said. “That party has come to be known as the birthplace of hip-hop.”

“It’s a culture that changed my life obviously,” he added, according to Rolling Stone. “It changed the lives of millions and millions of people.”

DJ Kool Herc then went up on stage, bringing Cindy along too.

“I got tears in my eyes,” Herc shared, giving some heartfelt acknowledgments. He then gave his sister a moment to speak.

“LL, you gave a heartfelt introduction, thank you, we love you,” Cindy said. “We always did, and I want to congratulate my brother DJ Kool Herc for staying on that path and getting where he is today. Congratulations to my brother.”

This year marks the 50th anniversary of DJ Kool Herc playing that first party.

Jazmine Sullivan, HER, Sia, And Common Honor Chaka Khan For Her Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction

Tonight’s Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony has honored a truly stacked list of musical legends for 2023. During the show, Chaka Khan received a heartfelt tribute as one of the inductees. Other musicians like HER, Sia, Common, and Jazmine Sullivan welcomed her with the award.

Sullivan led Chaka Khan’s induction speech — giving kind words to one of her biggest inspirations. “That voice, as raw as it is sweet, as sensual as it is soulful, has guided us through good times and bad, through meet-ups and breakups, through desire and despair, through hard times and higher love,” Sullivan said, according to Rolling Stone. “Chaka’s voice will never get lost among her peers or fade in the background, her tone stands alone. Everything about Chaka is fire.”

She also shared a story about how Khan was there for Sullivan’s mother when she went into remission for cancer.

From there, HER, Sia, and Common all appeared at different times to perform a blend of Khan’s songs. Common did “I Feel For You,” and HER played stuff from Khan’s time in Rufus with “Ain’t Nobody” and “Sweet Thing.” Sia closed out the medley with “I’m Every Woman,” according to the publication.

Check out a video from Chaka Khan’s induction tribute here.

Missy Elliott Has ‘Cried All Morning’ After News Of Her Groundbreaking Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction

Earlier this Wednesday morning, Missy Elliott made waves by becoming the first female rapper to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Given the significant achievement, Elliott took to social media to express her gratitude for the tremendous honor.

“I want to say this is HUGE not for just me but all my Sisters in HIPHOP this door is now OPEN to showcase the hard work & what many of us contribute to MUSIC,” she posted. “I have cried all morning because I am GRATEFUL thank you @rockhall & all on the committee & Supafriends.”

“It’s times I have gotten on line & seen your irrelevant your a flop your washed up & it would crush me at times,” Elliott added in a separate tweet. “BUT God you made me STRONG I kept going & you allowed my decades of WORK to SPEAK 4 itself… I am HUMBLED thank you all my Supporters I LOVE YOU.”

For this year’s slate of inductees, the Hall Of Fame’s CEO Joel Peresman also stands by the picks spanning a range of genres. “People always try to pigeonhole what rock and roll is, but our story has always been that it’s a wide tent,” he said. “It includes all different kinds of genres. We think this class really shows the breadth of rock and roll.”

The formal induction ceremony will take place on November 3 in Brooklyn.

Missy Elliott is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Which Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Nominees Were Not Selected For Induction?

Today, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame announced their next class of 2023 inductees, which includes Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against The Machine, and The Spinners.

However, some might be wondering who was possibly in the running but ultimately, not selected for induction.

According to Billboard, there were fourteen total nominees, starting with The White Stripes, as it marked the band’s first year being eligible.

Instead of Rage, Uproxx had chosen Soundgarden (fronted by the late Chris Cornell) as an early inductee prediction from the ’90s rock era. Switching genres but staying in that decade, another snub included A Tribe Called Quest, having been nominated the last two years without an induction.

Other nominees who didn’t make the cut this year included Iron Maiden, Joy Division (or New Order), Warren Zevon, and Cyndi Lauper.

Last year’s HOF induction class made some headlines after Dolly Parton tried to get voters to look at other artists. “I still had this feeling that I was taking votes from someone,” Parton said in an interview last December. “I would take any country things they give me because I’d feel I’d earned any of them that I get.” She was still inducted and is now making a rock-inspired album to match.

The ceremony will be held on November 3 in Brooklyn.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Class Of 2023 Features Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott, Kate Bush, And Others

Today (May 3), the 2023 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame class has been revealed and it’s a prestigious crop, featuring Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott, Kate Bush, Rage Against The Machine, Sheryl Crow, George Michael, and The Spinners, as Variety reports.

Those artists were voted in via general balloting, but also inducted via selection by a select Hall Of Fame committee are Chaka Khan, Al Kooper, and Bernie Taupin (all in the “musical excellence” category), Link Way, DJ Kool Herc (both in the “musical influence” category), and Don Cornelius, who’s getting the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

That’s 13 total honorees, and all of them will be inducted during a ceremony and concert scheduled to take place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on November 3.

The nominees who were not selected for induction this year are A Tribe Called Quest, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Soundgarden, The White Stripes, and Warren Zevon.

Of Nelson’s induction, John Sykes, chairman of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, told Variety, “It’s long overdue, and I think Dolly Parton getting inducted last year opened up the eyes of a lot of our voters to understand that country is a part of rock ‘n’ roll right next to gospel and rhythm and blues. I think that also shined a light on the incredible contributions that Willie’s made in, what, 98 records that he’s made over the years. So it was great to see him get so many votes from the body of 1,200 voters. Now, remember, Hank Williams, Brenda Lee, Johnny Cash, they’re all in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but there was I think a long dearth of country artists that contributed to rock ‘n’ roll that had gone unnoticed before we’ve seen two iconic country artists get recognized in the last two years.”

He also noted of Elliott getting inducted in her first year of eligibility, “Missy Elliott got in first ballot, just like Eminem got in first ballot last year and Jay-Z the year before. So if there’s a throughline we’re seeing, it shows the power of hip-hop music culture now, as if we didn’t know it already, as far as how quickly these artists are being recognized on the first ballot.”

Missy Elliott, The White Stripes, And Kate Bush Are Among The 2023 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Nominees

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has announced their nominees for the upcoming 2023 induction.

Among this year’s nominees are Kate Bush, whose song “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” saw a resurgence in popularity last year after it was featured prominently throughout the fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. This is Bush’s fourth time being nominated, as she was also nominated in 2018, 2021, and 2022. and Iron Maiden, Soundgarden, A Tribe Called Quest, Rage Against The Machine, and The Spinners are also among the repeat nominees. This is also the fourth time The Spinners have been nominated, having been previously nominated in 2012, 2015, and 2016. This year marks Rage Against The Machine’s fifth time being nominated.

Artists and bands are eligible for a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nomination 25 years after their music is first commercially available.

Among the first-time nominees are the White Stripes, Missy Elliott, Sheryl Crow, Warren Zevon, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, and Willie Nelson. Joy Division and New Order are also nominated and are packaged as one entity.

The inductees will be chosen from this list of nominees, and will be announced in May. The chosen artists will later be inducted during a ceremony in the fall.

Some of the artists mentioned here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.