Questlove has opened up about how a certain rap legend’s decision not to join the ‘Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop’ special he executive produced was a huge disappointment to him.
On Sunday (December 10), the same day the event was aired on television, the Roots drummer said on X/Twitter answered questions about the show,
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Of all the people who said no to being a part of the TV special, Quest said that MC Hammer‘s response “hurt the most.” “We begged him to open,” Quest explained. “We really wanted him to have his flowers.”
You can see the response below:
Hammer has not responded directly to Questlove’s message as of this writing. However, he has previously explained his reluctance to appear in any events celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop.
“You ain’t hear me go to none of these Hip Hop 50 — and just for the record, I got invited to every one,” he said at a street naming ceremony for 2Pac in Oakland last month.
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“But I really don’t have the patience for the fakeness. I’m really 60 years old. I can’t get with the fakeness of it all. I could do it with a young cat, but I can’t go around old cats and still be pretending.”
He joked about a hypothetical scenario of running into a veteran rapper at a commemorative event: “What you want me to call you? Six Shooter? Come on, man. Ain’t none of your bodies turned up yet!”
In addition to his Hammer regrets, Questlove responded to a question about the lack of Ice Cube, 50 Cent, Run-DMC, and the Wu-Tang Clan in the tribute by saying, “Not like we didn’t ask.”
‘A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop’ featured, among others, Queen Latifah, Common, Public Enemy, Rakim, Doug E. Fresh, MC Lyte, Rick Ross, Jeezy, Jermaine Dupri, YG, Too Short, E-40, De La Soul, Akon, Black Thought, Nelly, Gunna and Chance The Rapper.
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It was capped off by a reunion of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, who performed a medley of group and Will Smith solo hits including “Brand New Funk,” “Miami,” “Summertime,” and the theme to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
