Wu-Tang Clan Inducted Into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame As Queen Latifah And MC Lyte Take Early Influence Honors
Staten Island took the world — and on Saturday night, the world handed it a plaque.
WU-TANG CLAN
The Wu-Tang Clan was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday night (November 14) at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, presented by comedian Chris Rock.
“Wu-Tang rewrote the rules of hip-hop and did it without a big machine behind them,” Rock said as he inducted them.
All 10 current members of the Clan filled the stage for the acceptance. “We took Staten Island to the world,” RZA said. “We had a desire to conquer.” The induction came on the group’s first nomination.
Then came the performance. Backed by a big jazz band, Wu-Tang ran through a medley that included “C.R.E.A.M.” — and the moment the whole room felt: “Shimmy Shimmy Ya,” the signature record of their late brother Ol’ Dirty Bastard, performed in his honor. Footage from inside the room by Jessica Golich (@jessicaxgolich) shows the Clan shouting out ODB from the podium during the acceptance.
The love was everywhere in the building. Even Phil Collins closed his own induction speech with: “And now, I’m gonna party with the Wu-Tang Clan!”
QUEEN LATIFAH, INDUCTED BY MEGAN THEE STALLION
Queen Latifah entered the Hall as a recipient of the Early Influence Award, inducted by Megan Thee Stallion.
Megan said Latifah “taught us to recognize royalty within ourselves.”
Latifah — who wore a leather crown matching her leather trenchcoat and tie — admitted that for a long time, she would not have believed the night was possible. “It’s difficult enough being a woman in hip-hop, let alone being a hip-hopper in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” she said.
MC LYTE, INDUCTED BY REMY MA
MC Lyte was the first artist inducted on the night, presented by Remy Ma, who called her “one of the first women in hip-hop to make sure there was room for the rest of us.”
Lyte — the first female rapper to release a full solo album, 1988’s “Lyte as a Rock” — kept her acceptance grounded: she called herself a “B-girl from Brooklyn just looking for my chance to inspire and motivate.”
THE JOINT PERFORMANCE
Latifah and Lyte later took the stage together for a medley of their classics, including Latifah’s “U.N.I.T.Y.” and Lyte’s “Ruffneck,” as members of Wu-Tang Clan and Public Enemy’s Chuck D rapped and danced along from the audience. Megan Thee Stallion and Remy Ma joined them on stage — two generations of women in hip-hop closing the loop in one performance.
Latifah and Lyte entered the Hall as Early Influence Award recipients alongside posthumous inductees Gram Parsons, Fela Kuti and Celia Cruz.
The night’s full 2026 class also included Phil Collins, the late Luther Vandross (inducted by an unannounced Oprah Winfrey), Sade, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order and Iron Maiden. Oasis was inducted but did not attend the ceremony. An edited broadcast of the ceremony airs on ABC and Disney+ in December.
Reporting: Associated Press and AFP coverage of the 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony (November 14, 2026). Video from inside the Peacock Theater: Jessica Golich (@jessicaxgolich). Cover photo: Wu-Tang Clan on stage at the ceremony (frame from Golich’s footage).
