The 40th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday, November 8th. The class of 2025, which includes Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Cyndi Lauper, Joe Cocker, Warren Zevon, Salt-N-Pepa, Outkast, The White Stripes, and other musicians, was inducted. The evening began with a tribute to the late Sly Stone, featuring medleys performed by Stevie Wonder, Questlove, Maxwell, Jennifer Hudson, Leon Thomas, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Beck.
Hall of Famer Missy Elliott honored Salt-N-Pepa and DJ Spinderella with her induction. In an emotional speech, she expressed her deep gratitude to Salt-N-Pepa for shaping her career in the music industry. Despite facing ridicule and criticism from the male-dominated hip-hop genre, these trailblazing women persevered and released iconic hits. It was inspiring to hear remarks from their allies, such as MC Lyte and Queen Latifah, who were also influenced by the group’s success in pursuing their rap careers. The night truly came alive when the ladies performed some of their legendary hits. Their close friends, Kid N Play, made a special cameo appearance. En Vogue joined the inductees on stage to perform their collaborative hit, “Whatta Man.” To conclude the evening, DJ Spinderella made history by becoming the first female DJ to be inducted. These women are undoubtedly legendary and royalty in the music industry.
Rapper/Actor Donald Glover from the hit TV series ‘Atlanta‘, had the distinguished privilege of inducting hip hop duo group Outkast, members consisting of André 3000 and Big Boi. Emotions were high for the 2 artist and rightly so. André 3000 became really emotional when reminiscing about their early beginnings with the late songwriter Rico Wade. They produced many songs in the basement of Rico’s house. That’s why the quote from fellow honoree White hit home. White stated in his speech, “Great things start in little rooms.” André replied, “We started in a little room”.
There was quite a bit of Atlanta representation. Had singer Usher and rapper Ludacris doing clip interviews about they legendary group. One would say, Outkast paved the way for the south music to be heard. The audience was entertained by the stage performances to tribute the groups music catalog. Big Boi, Killer Mike and Sleepy Brown performed the classics “The Way You Move” and “The Whole World”. Singer Janelle Monáe grace us with her rendition of the Grammy hit “Hey Ya”. The only disappointment of the night was André 3000 did not perform.
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