Sophia Michaels
Eminem celebrated his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a career-spanning medley featuring several special guests.
Clad in a gold chain and black-hooded leather jacket, the rapper opened with brief snippet of his signature 1999 smash, “My Name Is,” before abruptly jumping to 2013’s “Rap God,” with its plethora of lyrical acrobatics.
Eminem then welcomed Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler to the stage, enlisting the frontman to belt the “Dream On” hook that anchors his 2002 Eminem Show track “Sing for the Moment.” The next guest to take the stage? Ed Sheeran, who played guitar and sang the hook for “Stan” (the original song samples Dido’s “Thank You”).
As his performance came to an end, Eminem delivered his verse from the 2009 all-star cut “Forever” (which also features Drake, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne), then closed things out with his own 2010 smash, “Not Afraid.”
Prior to his performance, Eminem thanked his myriad hip-hop heroes in his induction speech, where he also touched on the still conspicuous lack of rappers in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After thanking everyone from his cult heroes to his multi-platinum peers, Em said, “Those were my rock stars man, and I just want to say, like, those are just a few of the names that I hope will be considered in the future for induction. Because without them, a lot of us wouldn’t be here. I know I wouldn’t.”
