Tonight marked the annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction ceremony, where the luminaries of the musical world get together to celebrate, toast, and occasionally even play some music. Although the ceremony won’t be broadcast until later this month (on HBO) plenty of highlights are already leaking out onto the internet. Most notably, a huge tribute to posthumous inductee Tupac Shakur, with Alicia Keys, YG, Treach, T.I., and Snoop Dogg—who labeled his friend “The greatest rapper ever”—performing a medley of his hits.
Songs on display included Keys belting out “Ambitionz az a Ridah”, “I Get Around,” “I Ain’t Mad at Cha” and “Dear Mama,” while Snoop recreated his and Shakur’s hip hop two-hander “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted,” with YG taking Shakur’s part. The whirlwind tour of Tupac’s catalog was held up as the highlight of the evening, although people also praised Lenny Kravitz’s Prince tribute, Joan Baez’s call for empathy and love, and Steve Perry’s on-stage reunion with Journey, even if Perry declined the chance to make music history and join in for a little “Don’t Stop Believin’”. (He did share a backstage hug with his eventual replacement, Arnel Pineda, though, which was pretty sweet.)
[via Pitchfork and Rolling Stone]