Method Man has given the ultimate salute to his beloved Hip Hop while speaking at the inaugural Juneteenth concert at the White House.
During his speech on Tuesday (June 13), the “Bring the Pain” rapper first brought acknowledgement to President Joe Biden establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday in 2021, noting that it was the first national holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
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Method Man continued by honoring all varieties of Black music — including gospel, R&B, jazz, rock and soul — before giving a special shout-out to the very genre that gave him and countless others a platform for creative expression and commercial success.
“This concert is a fitting way to recognize Juneteenth and express this part of our shared American history,” the Wu-Tang Clan legend said. “For it is through music that African-Americans found community and sought solace. Music has the power to uplift us, to enrich our minds and nourish the souls.
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“From spirituals to gospel, R&B, jazz, rock, soul, and yes y’all, 50 years of Hip Hop, ya heard?! Each generation of Black musicians, artists and thought leaders have channeled the struggles of their lifetime into the American soundtrack.”
Method Man wasn’t the only big name at the event as Jennifer Hudson, Audra McDonald and Ledisi delivered musical performances, along with marching bands from some of the oldest HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) in the country including Fisk University, Morgan State University, Tennessee State University and Hampton University
Meth has been involved with a number of tributes to honor Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary so far. In February, he performed in the Hip Hop 50 Tribute at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. alongside the likes of LL COOL J, Queen Latifah, Public Enemy, De La Soul and Rakim, to name just a few.
More recently, it was announced that Wu-Tang Clan, Mary J. Blige, EPMD and more have been tapped to perform at a Funk Flex-curated Hip Hop 50 concert going down in the genre’s birthplace.
In addition to the aforementioned names, Tyrese, Sean Paul and special guests Mariah Carey and Maxwell will also perform at the show, which takes place on September 15 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
Fans will likely be hoping to see Method Man and Mary J. Blige come together to perform their classic 1995 hit, “I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need to Get By,” which Meth recently revealed he resented at first.
During a visit to Math Hoffa’s My Expert Opinion podcast last year, the rap vet explained how he hated the sex symbol status he earned from the Grammy-nominated song and attempted to reject the love he was getting.
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“I fought that ‘All I Need’ shit,” Meth said. “I didn’t wanna put it out ’cause it was at a point now where, when we were doing these shows [with] Wu-Tang Clan, I would come out and it’d be girls screaming. Now, for me, it’s like, I’m grimy, same-clothes-for-three-days-in-a-row n-gga; who wants to go the sex symbol route at this point?!”
