But what does that mean in 2016? Zander told the crowd, “Our fans really deserve this honor more than anyone for sticking up for us as long as they have”.
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Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation CEO Joel Peresman said the Induction ceremony will be held in Brooklyn in 2017, after that they will flip between NY and Cleveland. The film touched on gang violence, Black Lives Matter, freedom of speech, police violence. But Nielsen wasn’t satisfied with the lineup, and particularly N.W.A.’s absence. Bringing inner city life to the forefront and making the world pay attention to our realities.
In introducing the soulful rockers, Rob Thomas commented that “if you think Chicago’s your mom’s band, then I wanna party with your mom!” What they know is a big misconception. “The impression was just that they [were] trying to kill people”, Lamar said of the gangsta rappers. They “proved to every kid in the ghetto that you could be successful and still have your voice while doing it”. “A song, as far as I’m concerned, is by definition lyric and melody … or just melody”.
N.W.A., formed in the 1980s in the troubled Compton neighborhood of Los Angeles and enjoying new fame through the 2015 biopic “Straight Outta Compton”, were only the fifth hip hop act ever to be voted into the Hall of Fame.
“Who knew that “I want you to want me” would become such a defining phrase for a rock band from Rockford, Ill.?” The first time I see Eazy bust through that screen out the jail cell on stage on “We Want Eazy”, I felt like every single one of them was black superheroes where I come from.
Maybe being inducted into this thing can mean something. “And I want to say to Mr. Gene Simmons, hip-hop is here forever!” Of MC Ren, he said “he’s our temperament in N.W.A. He’s our conscience”. “Get used to it”, said MC Ren. “We supposed to be here!” Why Ice Cube is a “storytelling genius”Every bar had us hanging over our seats”. Rock “n” roll is a form of sped-up blues to me.
When a publicist for the Rock Hall tried to interrupt him, Miller persisted. “What connects us all is that spirit”. David Byrne, who inducted Bowie into the Rock Hall in 1996, performed “Fame” with the Roots and Kimbra. Chicago complained about their speeches being cut off too soon.
Cheap Trick were the final inductees, and they were ushered in by Kid Rock, who said “They had a punk soul, a pop heartbeat and Beatles ambitions”. N.W.A didn’t even perform.
Kendrick Lamar honored his idols N.W.A. Maybe it can stay relevant.
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Paul Shaffer and E Street Band’s Steven Van Zandt – the latter of whom inducted Bert Berns, this year’s Ahmet Ertegun honoree – joined Steve Miller, and members of Chicago and Deep Purple for the performance.
