The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place Saturday, and among the night’s inductees was the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige.
Following an introduction from longtime collaborators Dr. Dre and Method Man, Mary took the stage performing a medley of her hits with help from The Roots, Lucky Daye and Ella Mai. She started her speech thanking God, and went to name a few others before expressing gratitude to Method Man and Dre for helping her earn her first Grammy and Emmy, respectively.
“To my fans, y’all endured blood, sweat and tears with me and help me heal,” she said. “Just as much as you said. I hope you heal. … None of this would be happening if it wasn’t for you guys supporting us and sharing us, cheering us on, and for your die-hard love and loyalty.”
She shared the advice to “be careful how you treat others” and reminded aspiring talent that “faith without works is dead.”
Mary’s moment at the Hall of Fame ceremony was preceded by Chuck D‘s introduction of Kool & The Gang, who performed their hits and shouted out their late founding members. Teyana Taylor praised “rule breaker,” “name taker” and “hit maker” Miss Dionne Warwick, who joked that the RRHOF “finally got it right” after her third nomination.
A Tribe Called Quest was also inducted following a presentation from Dave Chappelle, who thanked them for inviting him to join them on Saturday Night Live, which “brought me back to television after 12 years in the cold.” Following their “brief comments,” as Dave joked, during which they were accompanied by the late Phife Dawg‘s parents, they sat back to watch a tribute performance featuring Common, Busta Rhymes, Spliff Star, The Roots, Queen Latifah and De La Soul‘s Posdnuos.
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