Jay Z Thanks Artists Who Inspired Him After Being Inducted Into the Songwriters Hall of Fame [Video]

It’s rare that Jay Z tweets, but on Thursday night the rapper took to the social media platform to think all the artists who have inspired him over the years.

He was also inducted as the first rapper in the Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier that same day.

via Complex:

Jay shared a list of names in a series of tweets, showing love to everyone from Chuck D and Ice Cube to Drake and Meek Mill to Future and Lil Wayne. It was a varied bunch that included rap godfathers like Grandmaster Caz and Melle Mel; Golden Age icons such as Rakim, Queen Latifah, and Kool G. Rap (not for nothing did Hov once declare, “Hearing me rap is like hearing G. Rap in his prime”); former mentors Jaz-O and Big Daddy Kane; his contemporaries like Scarface, Redman, Pharoahe Monch, Black Thought, Andre 3000, and the late great Big L; and more, including many new artists who will undoubtedly be thrilled at their inclusion.

And showing that he was in a particularly welcoming mood, Jay even included some people he had beefed with over the years: Jaz-O, Cam’ron, Nas, and Joe Budden. He also makes reference to dimly remembered, long-ago battles against GZA and Busta Rhymes, well before anyone involved was famous. 

Check out his tweets below.

Jay also thanked former President Obama — all while releasing a video message Obama recorded for his Hall of Fame induction.

“I’d like to think Mr. Carter and I understand each other. Nobody who met us as younger men would have expected us to be where we are today… We know what it’s like not to come from much… And so we try to prop open those doors of opportunities so it’s a little easier for those who come up behind us… Jay and I are also fools for our daughters, although he’s going to have me beat once those two twins show up. And, let’s face it, we both have wives who are significantly more popular than we are,” the former president said.

Even still, Jay had more people to name.

Congrats Jay!