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| Eminem Inducts Run-DMC Into Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame With Poetic Tribute Posted: 05 Apr 2009 09:44 AM PDT 'Two turntables and a microphone, that's all it took to change the world,' Em says of his heroes.
On the night when Run-DMC became only the second hip-hop act to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it was fitting that the group that blazed the trail between rock and rap in the 1980s was invited into the rarified club by a hip-hop icon of the modern era whose career is built on their bedrock: Eminem.
His sartorial style inspired by his heroes, from the black leather jacket, shirt and pants, to the black fedora tilted on his head, Eminem bounded onto the stage with a pimping swagger and crossed his arms in a Run-DMC style as he leaned into the microphone. "Two turntables and a microphone, that's all it took to change the world," the reclusive Detroit MC began. "Three kings from Queens made rap music in the b-boy stance a global phenomenon," he said of the group's members, rappers Joseph "Reverend Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, and late DJ Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell. (Head to the MTV Newsroom to read the e-mail JMJ's close friend Eric "Shake" James sent to MTV News while he witnessed the ceremony.) After the first time he heard the group's "hard beats and bold rhymes," at age 11, Eminem recalled that "something about the big drums and the strong raps that grabbed hold of my ears and changed my life." Clearly humbled by the honor, Slim Shady's speech had a lyrical groove as he added, "Something fresh, something tough. Something dangerous. Something beautiful and something unique. Two turntables and a microphone," staring out at the crowd and rubbing his hands together as if savoring the treat of setting up his heroes for the glory they so richly deserve. Recalling how their 1985 video for "King of Rock" had them crashing a fictional Rock and Roll Museum and being told they didn't belong in such a museum, Eminem said, "And 25 years later, man, here we are. They didn't take no for an answer, much the same way as they didn't give up when much of the world refused to recognize rap as real music. They were the first rock stars of rap. They were the first movie stars of rap. They were the first rap group played on MTV. ... They were the baddest of the bad, the coolest of the cool. Two turntables and a microphone." Em talked about not knowing what he wanted to do in life while growing up in Detroit and then hearing Run-DMC and realizing "that you could write your own rules, which is something that still inspires me, as well as every rap other artist, constantly." And then the crowd finally caught on to the rhythm of Slim's callback refrain and repeated along with him, "Two turntables and a microphone." "I remember being in ninth grade when Raising Hell came out," he recalled, and wryly added, "Two years later, I still remember being in ninth grade when Tougher Than Leather came out. I had skipped school, if you can believe that, to go buy Tougher Than Leather on cassette the day it came out. As soon as I heard 'Run's House,' man, it was pretty much a rap for me. Marshall Mathers became Eminem. It was the first time Run-DMC had changed my life, but it wouldn't be the last. Two turntables and a microphone." Bringing the group's indelible career into the present, Em paid tribute to late DJ Mizell's mentorship of Slim's protégé, 50 Cent. "Jay shaped the way 50 wrote, the way he rapped and the way he thought," Em said of Fif, whose early works were overseen by Mizell. "Again, Run-DMC changed my life. Without them I wouldn't have met one of my closest friends." Eminem closed by saying that the group's impact can be felt everywhere. Echoing one of the group's most famous couplets from "King of Rock," Em concluded, "There's three of them, and if you grew up on hip-hop like I did, they are the Beatles." With their friends and family surrounding them onstage, Rev Run first thanked Mizell's mother for always allowing the young trio to practice at her home and never asking them to turn down the volume. He also thanked his brother, hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons, who convinced the group to change their name from the Sure Shot Three and to mash rock with their rap. Paying touching homage to his adoptive parents, DMC urged the crowd to give love to foster children. "If my birth mother never gave me up, my real mother would have never came and got me," he said, hitting on one of the topics that has become his abiding passion since the group broke up in 2002 following Jay's still unsolved murder. "There would be no Run-DMC; there would be no rap music the way it is today. ... But forget about all that celebrity stuff, y'all. This little boy, Darryl McDaniels, wouldn't be standing here tonight telling y'all that. The best thing y'all can do is give love to a kid, because that kid may grow up and be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame one day." Mizell's mother, Connie Mizell, also reminisced lovingly about how her late son tore up every one of her turntables learning how to scratch, and she didn't mind. And how "the boys" would be tearing it up in the next room as she studied in the adjoining room, and she didn't mind. "Nothing happens before time," she said. "It wasn't time when Jason was living. It was time after he'd gone. Because you see the blessings is still going on. He is not forgotten." The group did not perform at the ceremony, in keeping with their pledge not to play live again following Mizell's death. Related Photos Related Artists |
| Metallica, Run-DMC Join Rock, Rockabilly, Soul Legends In Hall Of Fame Posted: 05 Apr 2009 12:44 AM PDT Wanda Jackson and others highlight genre's rebellious roots at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is all about honoring the past achievements of legendary artists who helped build the rebel foundation of the genre. But on Saturday night (April 4) in Cleveland, it was a pair of contemporary artists who showed the crowd how those wild and wooly seeds sown by a ragtag group of rockabilly shouters, soul stirrers, boogie-woogie piano bangers and country hollerers more than half a century ago have grown to include everything from hip-hop to heavy metal. One of the night's highlights was a moving induction speech from Eminem, making a rare public appearance to honor his musical heroes, Run-DMC, only the second hip-hop act to enter the Hall. "Two turntables and a microphone, that's all it took to change the world," Em said, his all-black ensemble inspired by the Queens trio's signature look. Praising their music's ability to spread hip-hop around the world, Em said there was something about the sound made by rappers Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, and late DJ Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell that "grabbed hold of my ears and changed my life." Repeating the simple refrain, "two turntables and a microphone," like a mantra, Em described Run-DMC as, "something fresh, something tough. Something dangerous. Something beautiful and something unique. Two turntables and a microphone." Run and DMC graciously accepted the award surrounded by their families and that of Mizell, paying irreverent homage to Run's brother, Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons, for his wacky idea of mixing rock and rap. DMC, who learned just a few years ago that he was adopted, also urged the crowd, "The best thing y'all can do is give love to a kid, because that kid may grow up and be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame one day." This year's ceremony was back in Cleveland, home of the Hall of Fame building, for the first time since the first-ever induction ceremony in 1997. And for the first time, the general public was allowed to buy tickets to the event, held at Cleveland's Public Auditorium. That suited honorees Metallica just fine, as the Bay Area masters of metal repeatedly gave shout-outs to the thousands of head-banging followers who have made them one of the biggest metal bands in rock history. Appearing onstage with ex-bassist Jason Newsted for the first time in more than eight years, as well as with the father of late bassist Cliff Burton, guitarist/singer James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo, all reflected on the job they likened to a brotherhood built on rock-and-roll fantasies. "I think rock and roll is about possibilities and about dreams," Ulrich said, as the band took the stage following a funny, profane, reverent induction by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. "The fact that the six of us can be up on the stage tonight, snot-nosed kids, outcasts, loners who grew up in very different parts of the world, in very different situations and make it here tonight, to this wonderful night in front of all these people down here ... Rock and roll truly is about possibilities. Look at us. Metallica's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! Can you f---ing believe that?" Hetfield encouraged young musicians, "Dream big and dare to fail. ... I dare you to do that. Because this is living proof that it is possible to make a dream come true." The band concluded with a murderous set that began with their classic, genre-defining metal anthem, "Master of Puppets," and segued into a menacing, vein-popping trip through another modern heavy metal cornerstone, "Enter Sandman." The show opened with inductees Little Anthony and the Imperials harmonizing on a medley of classic songs, including their swaying doo-wop staple "Tears on My Pillow." Founding singer Anthony Gourdine, 69, hit his signature falsetto notes, working the stage despite a shoulder injury he sustained Friday morning. The group was inducted by Hall of Famer and Motown legend Smokey Robinson, who said of his lifelong friends, "It is a joy for me to be here for what I consider a long-overdue event. ... I think they are one of the greatest groups to have ever decided to sing together." British guitar god Jeff Beck, 64, became a rare two-time honoree — he was previously inducted as a member of the Yardbirds — when he was called up again by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page in honor of his 40-year career of electric six-string wizardry in genres ranging from rock to blues and fusion jazz. Joined by Page, Beck gave the crowd a taste of his blistering chops with a thundering blues-jam meltdown take on Zep's "Immigrant Song." Also inducted was Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson, 71, who blazed a trail for female rock singers with her raw, uninhibited work on such early hits as "Let's Have a Party." She was inducted by country royalty Roseanne Cash, daughter of the late Johnny Cash, who proclaimed, "For girls with guitars, myself included, Wanda was the beginning of rock and roll. Everyone who cares about roots music and rock and roll reveres Wanda. But in particular, every young woman I know, musician or otherwise, worship her as the prototype, the first female rock star." Cleveland native and soul giant Bobby Womack, 65, ("Looking for a Love," "Across 110th Street") was inducted by the Rolling Stones' Ron Wood, which was fitting, since Womack wrote the Stones' first #1 UK hit, "It's All Over Now." Womack reminisced about being a guitar player for Sam Cooke. "The last song he wrote, he made a statement, and that statement was 'A Change Is Gonna Come.' ... When I think about it, that subject has come up again. A change has come," referring to the election of Barack Obama. Among the sidemen inducted on Saturday night were Muscle Shoals band keyboard master Spooner Oldham (Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan) and two members of Elvis' band, bassist Bill Black and legendary drummer D.J. Fontana. The night ended with the obligatory all-star jam, which featured all the members of Metallica, plus Aerosmith's Joe Perry, Flea, Page, Beck and Wood cranking up the aggression for a snarling, guitar-geek-nirvana version of the Yardbirds' "Train Kept A-Rollin'." Artists are eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first record, and inductees are selected by a panel of 500 "rock experts" who evaluate each candidate. Related Photos Related Artists |
| Metallica Shred The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Posted: 04 Apr 2009 11:39 PM PDT After emotional induction speeches, five-piece band delivers 'Master of Puppets,' 'Enter Sandman.'
Embraced by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for more than 25 years of brutally melodic, cathartic hard rock, Metallica stayed true to their pledge and made their induction Saturday night a generous family affair, and a throat-punching throwdown. Ex-bassist Jason Newsted — who was ousted from the group eight years ago — guitarist/singer James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo, along with the father of late bassist Cliff Burton, paid homage to the brotherhood that lifted a scrappy band of speed-demon metalists to the pinnacles of rock-and-roll success. Then they capped the night by showing the room full of their musical heroes the lessons they've learned along the way in a no-holds-barred set that included "Master of Puppets" and "Enter Sandman." The group was inducted by pal and fellow rock survivor Flea, bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. With his hair dyed blue and wearing a vintage Metallica T-shirt under a green blazer, Flea recalled the first time he heard Metallica, in 1984 while on tour with the Peppers. It was 3 in the morning, they were tired, crammed into a van and sick of being on the road, and "this music comes on the radio, and I couldn't believe that it f---ing existed," Flea said, as Hetfield jokingly covered his daughter's ears. "It was like I had been living in this normal world, where I knew what everything was that came on the radio, and all of a sudden my mind was being blown by this beautiful, violent thing that was unlike anything I had ever heard before in my life." Flea profanely described staring at the radio in awe at this music that was explosive, precise, aggressive and intense, with wild and bizarre rhythm changes that he couldn't describe. "I didn't know what it was; the only thing I knew for sure was that it was a mighty thing," he said of "Fight Fire with Fire," likening Metallica's unique sound to a rarified "cosmic chemistry" and paying moving homage to the special gift of late bassist Burton, who died in 1986 in a bus accident while on tour with the group. "When a person gets rocking to their music, everything else disappears, and that person is just one with the rock," Flea said. "It is an inexplicable, awesome thing, and I bow down to it." Newsted, his voice cracking with emotion, expressed his joy at being asked to participate in the event and the opportunity to spend nearly two decades with Metallica, engaging in what he called "heavy metal ambassadorship." His feelings were seconded by Trujillo, who referred to the band's ongoing creative career as a masterpiece. By the time drummer Ulrich got the podium, there weren't many people left to thank, so he made sure to give a hearty shout out to the people in the balcony, a.k.a. the fans. "I think rock and roll is about possibilities and about dreams," he said. "The fact that the six of us can be up on the stage tonight, snot-nosed kids, outcasts, loners who grew up in very different parts of the world, in very different situations and make it here tonight, to this wonderful night in front of all these people down here ... Rock and roll truly is about possibilities. Look at us. Metallica's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! Can you f---ing believe that?" Sporting a blond mowhawk, Hetfield started his thanks with a list of bands he'd like to see enter next, which included Kiss, Rush, Thin Lizzy, Ted Nugent, Iron Maiden and Motorhead. He also dedicated the award to the young musicians trying to make it. "Dream big and dare to fail," he said. "I dare you to do that. Because this is living proof that it is possible to make a dream come true." The band put the exclamation point on their induction with a murderous set on a bare bones stage. Hetfield and Hammett began by clicking into a blazing guitar boogie in the intro to their classic metal anthem, "Master of Puppets." Ulrich's pounding jazz fills and the throbbing double-headed bass thrums from Newsted and Trujillo gave the already pummeling song an even more ominous stomp, with the one-time-only five-man band easily slipping into the group's notoriously tight and heavy musical pocket. For nearly nine minutes, in what is surely the heaviest tune to ever rock the stage at the ceremony, the precision changes and blazing power that earned the band its spot in the Hall were on full display. The menacing rattle continued during an equally punishing "Enter Sandman," which the band played for the coliseum full of rock dignitaries and a handful of fans with the same vein-popping intensity they muster during their legendarily sweaty stadium and arena shows. Related Photos Related Artists |
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