American rapper and songwriter known professionally as Jay-Z (real name Shawn Corey Carter) was welcomed into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on 30 October.
Hailing Jay-Z as "one of rap’s most innovative and trailblazing stars", Rolling Stone argued that the rapper "regularly set the standard in hip-hop and pop culture writ large" over the past two and a half decades.
In his speech at the ceremony that was held at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio, the rapper reminisced about how, "growing up, we didn’t think we could be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame".
"We were told that hip-hop was a fad," he said. "Much like punk rock, it gave us this anticulture, this subgenre, and there were heroes in it."
Jay-Z also went on to mention the people who helped him along the way, and expressed hope that he is showing the “next generation that anything is possible”.
"I don’t know what’s next. In fact, I do know what’s next. I have to go to court. Life is about balance, but you know, tonight, I enjoyed tonight. I appreciate this honour," he said, finishing his address by apologising for “this long-a-** speech."
Jay-Z was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the first year of being eligible, since in order to qualify, "artists or bands must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years ago", as NPR explains.
The award ceremony also witnessed the induction of another rapper, LL Cool J (real name James Todd Smith), as well as the Foo Fighters, Carole King, Tina Turner, The Go-Gos and Todd Rundgren, into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
According to Variety, an edited version of the induction ceremony is going to be aired on HBO on 20 November.