The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame announced its upcoming inductees this week and A Tribe Called Quest did not make the cut. Consequence has now called out the organization for not giving proper recognition to one of Hip-Hop’s most legendary groups.
TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the 45-year-old on Wednesday (May 3) in Queens, NY coincidentally right where Tribe’s mural is located. “So I’m going past everybody facial right now to make sure that Hip-Hop remember who’s getting snubbed,” Cons said in a video.
“You know, this is the family tree. Regardless of whatever, and however, this is the family tree for me, you know what I’m saying? This is the tree that brought you G.O.O.D Music. This is the tree that allowed Common to go from Common Sense to ‘Be’ Common.”
Consequence continued naming acts A Tribe Called Quest influenced or collaborated with such as De La Soul and Queen Latifah before turning his attention back to the committee. “What we not gon’ do is keep subjugating that name, A Tribe Called Quest, to a white population or white popularity contest,” Cons said. “And having them in there as the token ni**as pick. We gon’ stop that.”
The Queens rapper made sure to give respect to Missy Elliott and the other inductees who were announced on Wednesday, saying “We love Missy, shoutout to Missy. Shoutout to everybody who got nominated for music.” He visibly could not fathom A Tribe Called Quest continually being slighted two years in a row, saying “What I ain’t really feeling is that now we gotta explain 0-2? The merit of the music, you can’t put a record on that. You can’t put a 0-2 or 2-0 on A Tribe Called Quest and what they did for Black Music.”
DJ Kool Herc, Chaka Khan, Don Cornelius, and Willie Nelson were also among the 13 people who will be inducted. The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony will take place on Friday, Nov. 3 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.