Last night on April 7, 2017, Tupac Amaru Shakur was officially inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, becoming the first solo hip hop artist to ever receive the honor.
To commemorate the occasion, Pac’s close friend Snoop Dogg paid a very special tribute to the late rap icon, alongside T.I., Alicia Keys, YG and Treach
It was a special and emotional night for all involved, especially Snoop, who reportedly “jumped at the chance” to pay tribute to his friend.
As the 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony kicked off, the big question was “who will perform the tribute to the late Tupac?” Well, the Rock Hall made a lovely, inspired choice by having East Coast R&B balladeer Alicia Keys honor the late West Coast rap god with a medley of snippets of ‘Pac songs (including “I Ain’t Mad at Cha” and “Ambitionz As a Ridah”) while effortlessly riffing on the piano, talking about her love for the man and his music. Standing up from the ivories, she belted “Changes” as the audience sang-along. Then, things got loud. Snoop Dogg and YG performed “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted,” Treach from Naughty by Nature did “Hail Mary,” and T.I. – decked out in Tupac’s signature bowtie bandanna AND a leather corset — gave an affecting cover of “Keep Ya Head Up” that was clearly very meaningful for him.
The ceremony won’t be televised until April 29 on HBO.