(Photo Credit) Kevin Kane/Getty Images

Outkast and Salt-N-Pepa were among those inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2025 over the weekend.

During the 2025 induction ceremony at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, OutKast was honored alongside artists including Cyndi Lauper and Salt-N-Pepa, a lineup that reflected the genre-spanning power of their legacy and marked another proud moment for Atlanta’s cultural influence on global music.

During his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction speech, Donald Glover praised OutKast for redefining creativity and identity in hip-hop.

 

 

“OutKast was able to distill the polarizing nature of being not just from the South, not just being Black, but being human in a very polarizing and contradicting world,” Glover said. “They made it possible to imagine experimenting on the biggest stage and to aim for the impossible.”

“If I had to describe what I thought a 13-times platinum, highest-selling rap album in the world would be, it probably wouldn’t have been a rap duo. It probably wouldn’t have been a double album that split the genre in half with two consecutive number one sounds. That sounds insane — until it isn’t.”

Big Boi and André 3000 took the stage for their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame acceptance speech, short but heartfelt, reflecting on humble beginnings.

 

 

“One thing Jack Black said, he said something about a little room,” Big Boi told the crowd. “Great things start in little rooms. That’s it.”

 

Tyler, the Creator Performing Outkast B.O.B. at Rock Hall

 

 

Missy Elliott Inducts Salt-N-Pepa into Rock Hall

 

 

After a speech from Missy Elliott, the trio performed a medley of their classic hits including 1987’s “Push It” and 1993’s “Whatta Man,” for which they were joined by the song’s original collaborators En Vogue.

 

 

Salt-N-Pepa Accepts 2025 Induction into Rock Hall

 

“This is for every woman who picked up a mic when they told her she couldn’t,” Cheryl “Salt” James said Saturday while accepting the musical influence award that made her, Sandra “Pepa” Denton and DJ Spinderella members of the hall.

Spinderella became the first female DJ to enter the hall.

“When I started, it was a rare thing to see a woman behind turntables,” Spinderella said. “It was literally the boys club, so I had to carve my own lane. I had to show up. It was dedication; it was my craft, and I never missed a beat, in 40 years y’all… I carry every female DJ who ever dared to dream. Every woman who touched a turntable and said, ‘I can do that too.’ This is ours. Respect the DJ.”