Dr. Dre was among the sea of famous faces at the 2022 Rock + Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday night (November 5). Held at The Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Eminem, Duran Duran, Jimmy Iovine, Lionel Richie, Eurythmics, Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam, Dolly Parton, Elizabeth Cotten, Judas Priest, Harry Belafonte, Sylvia Robinson, Carly Simon, Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo and attorney Allen Grubman were all ushered into the famed Rock Hall during the nearly five-hour affair.
Shortly after U2's The Edge welcomed Annie Lennox and Dave Steward into the esteemed class, Dr. Dre took the podium to induct his longtime friend and protégé Slim Shady. He shared the story of how they were first introduced and admitted he was "fucked up" after he realized Eminem was a white rapper. With that, Eminem took the stage for an 11-minute medley, which included a surprise appearance from Aerosmith's Steven Tyler on the song "Sing For The Moment" and Ed Sheeran on guitar for "Stan."
During his acceptance Speech, Eminem—who was clearly nervous—listed dozens of his early Hip Hop influences in alphabetical order, no less, which garnered laughter from the audience.
"I put this list together yesterday, and I kept adding to the shit, adding to the shit, and if I forget anybody, I apologize, but these were my teachers right here," he said. "I’m going to start with the 2 Live Crew, 2Pac, 3rd Bass, Alliance, Apache, Audio Two, Milk Dee, what up? Awesome Dre, the Beastie Boys, Big Daddy Kane, Big Pun, Big L, Biz Markie, The Notorious B.I.G, of course, Black Moon, The Boogiemonsters, Brand Nubian, Brother J from X Clan, Buckshot, Casual from Hieroglyphics, Chill Rob G, Chubb Rock, Chuck D, and Public Enemy. Cypress Hill, D-Nice, Dana Dane, De La Soul.
"Nah, I’m only playing with you. De La Soul. Did I say De La Soul? Def Jeff, Del the Funky Homosapien, DJ Quik, Dr. Dre, Dres from Black Sheep, LG, EPMD, The Fat Boys, Fat Joe, Fu-Schnickens, Gang Starr, Geto Boys, Heavy D, House of Pain, Ice Cube, Ice-T, The Intelligent Hoodlum, J.J. Fad, Jaz-O, Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Justus, K-Solo, Kid ‘n Play. What’s happening right now? King Sun, King Tee, Kool G. Rap, Kool Moe Dee, KRS-One, Kwame, Lakim Shabazz, Large Professor, Leaders of the New School."
And no, Eminem wasn't done there. He continued, "Man, where’d I just seen him? The one and only LL COOL J. Lord Finesse, Lords of the Underground, Mantronix, Masta Ace, MC Creed, MC Lyte, MC Shan, Melle Mel, Merciless Ameer, Mobb Deep, Monie Love, Nas, Newcleus, Onyx, Organized Confusion, OutKast, Andre 3000, Paris, Pharcyde, Queen Latifah, Rakim, Redhead Kingpin, Pete Rock & CL Smooth.
"I’m almost done. Redman. Redman, Roxanne Shante, Run DMC, Slick Rick and Doug E Fresh, Snoop Dogg, Souls of Mischief, Special Ed, Stetsasonic. Now I’m down to the S’s. Super Legacy and Casanova One, The DOC, the Roots, Black Thought, The Skinny Boys, Tony D, Too Short, Treach and Naughty by Nature, Tribe Called Quest, UTFO, Udini, Wise Intelligent and the Poor Righteous Teachers, Wu-Tang Clan and Wiki. "
He added, "They’re legendary rock stars, man, and I just want to say, those are just a few of the names that I hope will be considered in the future. That was an old class. Without them a lot of us wouldn’t be here. So that’s all I have to say now. Know that this induction is supposed to me talking about myself and shit, man, but fuck that. I wouldn’t be here without them. I’m a high school drop out, man, with a Hip Hop education and these are my teachers. It’s their night just as much as it is mine. So thank you."
RAPstation was in the audience as the evening moved along, however, the full video of the induction ceremony won't be available to the public until November 19 when it airs on HBO and HBO Max.
