Missy Elliott, the first female rapper made it a shimmering night at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

The 38th annual ceremony of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame took place on Friday in Brooklyn. This time, the evening saw new Gen-Z musicians, as well as rappers performing on stage. The opening performance of Olivia Rodrigo and Sheryl Crow with the song, If It Makes You Happy, garnered huge applause.

Elliot's debut

However, Missy Elliott made her grand debut and became the first female rapper to perform at Rock & Roll. She sang her super-hit songs, Lose Control and Get Ur Freak On. While enjoying the proud moment, Missy said on stage, “This is the 50th anniversary of hip hop, so this is deeper than me just being up here. You just feel like it’s so far to reach when you’re in the hip-hop world.” Surprisingly, this is also Missy's first concert that her mother has attended.

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Other attendees

This 2023 edition saw a mixture of emphasised genre-mixing and inclusivity, following through on chairman John Sykes's stated goal. This shift comes in the wake of derogatory comments made by Jann Wenner, Rolling Stone magazine co-founder and Rock Hall board member, who said women and Black artists were not "articulate enough" to be included in his newly published book about rock stars.

Queen Latifa inducted Elliot into Rock & Roll. She made an emotional speech after accepting the award.