Queen Latifah on the Rock Hall: "We Made Rock and Roll"

By Miles Carter, November 15, 2026

Queen Latifah goes into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with a clear memory of when it did not feel like a place for her. In an interview with Billboard published Nov 13, 2026, ahead of the Nov 14 ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, she described how the Hall looked to her generation.

"It felt like they were missing the mark," she told Billboard. "We made rock and roll, but we couldn't get in. So, if there are no Black people in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, what kind of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame are you? It's been amazing to watch them grow and change."

She called the honor "pretty high up there" among her accomplishments, and said it came without a push from her side. "This isn't something you go around campaigning for," she said.

Her blueprint

Latifah receives the Early Influence Award, and so does MC Lyte, as KAZI noted in its Wu-Tang Clan induction preview. She credited Lyte directly. "I wouldn't be here without Lyte," she said. "She was the blueprint for me. Salt-N-Pepa were the blueprint for me."

The Rock Hall's own YouTube channel posted a clip from her late-night appearance with Jimmy Fallon on NBC, in which she said the induction "wasn't even like a real thing to be able to achieve" when she was a young rapper starting out.

Queen Latifah Reflects on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction

The Billboard conversation also covered her housing work in Newark and her documentary You Can Go Home Again, which BET premieres Nov 27, 2026.