Jay-Z’s induction speech is now available to watch, and it featured an array of famous faces, including President Obama, LeBron James, and Chris Rock.
The legendary rapper was finally inducted into Rock Hall this year, and Dave Chappelle had the honour of inducting him on the night. Now, HBO has shared the full Questlove produced induction video titled The Times and Life of Shawn Carter. In the video, a selection of celebrity fans shared what Jay-Z means to them.
President Obama said, “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.
“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.”
Meanwhile, Jay reflected, “We was like we gonna create our own company, you know? That’s hip hop. And we created this company called Roc-A-Fella Records. Shout out to Dame [Dash]; I know we don’t see eye to eye, but I can never erase your accomplishments, and I appreciate you and thank you for that.
“And shout out to [Kareem] ‘Biggs’ [Burke]; he’s one of the most honourable people I’ve ever met. We created something that will probably never be duplicated.”
Watch the film below.
