American rap gurus, Nas and Lil Wayne are finally rightfully reigning supreme among the inaugural inductees of Billboard’s freshly minted Hip Hop Hall of Fame.

Presented by Billboard‘s Executive Director of R&B/Hip Hop, Gail Mitchell, the Grammy Award winners reflected on the honour during the publication’s 2023 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players event in Los Angeles last week Tuesday.

Kicking off his speech, Wayne began by giving thanks “to the man up above” and “those that we lost, those that we wish were here. We thank you as well…”

The “A Milli” hitmaker also gave thanks to his fans, saying: “I think I worded it the best way when I said I ain’t s—t without you. This is for y’all, y’all as in my fans, those in the crowd, my supporters, those that work for me, those that work with me, those that work around me, those that work like me. This is for us.”

At a later stage, Nas also got up and humbly said: “I didn’t get into it [rap] for awards; we got into it because we love the art form.”

Born in Queens, the rapper reflected on the genre’s journey and accomplishments over the last five decades. “50 years of Hip Hop, and we have a concert at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. 50 years of Hip Hop saluting some of the pioneers who inspired me…”

Nas went on to express how “honoured” he was “to still be alive to see it be 50 years as a fan.” He continued, “So I want to thank you all for getting awards at 49, not when I was 29. But I appreciate you. I ain’t gonna lie; I stayed away from award shows back then; I thought that shit was the devil … But it ain’t. You make it what it is.”

Main Image: HipHop DX