Kate Bush was not at the ceremony in Brooklyn herself as she released a statement on her website, saying: “I am completely blown away by this huge honour – an award that sits in the big beating heart of the American music industry. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me. I never imagined I would be given this wonderful accolade. Last year was such a surprisingly successful time for my track Running Up That Hill and I’m sure that a lot of you who’ve voted me in to the RRHOF also drove that track up the charts. Thank you! I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend the ceremony tonight, but for me the real honour is knowing that you felt I deserved it.”

In place of Bush, St Vincent performed ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ at the ceremony in her honour. St Vincent later released a post on social media, recalling her admiration for Bush, as she said: “Kate Bush. First heard her song ‘This Woman’s Work” in the pivotal scene in the 1988 film She’s Having A Baby. And though I was 7 or 8 and too young to understand much of anything, I wept. Then around age 16 I went to CD World in Dallas and saw a copy of ‘The Sensual World’ on the racks. And I was so taken with her. Her expression. The flower to her lips. I hadn’t put the pieces together yet that this was the woman who sang THAT song. But I took it home and it was her. That woman who could soar so high into the ether and reach so deep into your soul. The entire album is a masterpiece, but I still cannot listen to ‘This Woman’s Work’ without weeping. I stand in awe of Kate Bush. There is no one who could ever compare.”

St Vincent’s performance of ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ can be found below.

Kate Bush had been nominated for the honour three times before in 2018, 2021 and 2022, but did not get an induction until this year. Bush’s song ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ was used on the fourth season of Stranger Things, with the track earning fresh recognition with a younger audience, particularly in the United States – No doubt contributing to her induction.

Appearing on the Rap Radar podcast, Badu talked openly about how the song initially hit a “sore spot” for her, elaborating ““I didn’t wanna hear that, especially when I heard Big Boi’s verse. When I heard Andre’s verse, I felt very good because his verse was really, really inspiring.” Badu further alluded to the pair being on good terms by adding“He just said how he felt and it was his honest feelings and I always respected that and listened to what he felt and appreciated it.” The full segment can be seen below.

The conversation then turned to what Badu’s mother- the titular Ms Jackson- made of the track. Surprisingly, Badu revealed that her mother’s reaction to the song had been a very positive one. “How did my mama feel? Baby, she bought herself a ‘Ms. Jackson’ licence plate,” Badu said. She had the mug, she had the ink pen, she had the headband, everything. That’s who loved it.”

Badu has also appeared on Outkast classics like ‘Liberation’ and ‘Humble Mumble’, and herself guested onstage with the duo during their 2014 reunion. Outkast performed together in September for the first time since the aforementioned reunion, at the Dungeon Family Festival, despite not being specifically listed on the bill.

Big Boi acted as hype man for large parts of the show, before being joined by Andre 3000 after about 15 minutes. The two then performed multiple classic tracks, including ‘So Fresh, So Clean’, ‘Hootie Hoo’ and ‘SpottieOttieDopalicious’, before being joined by fellow Atlanta icon Killer Mike for a rendition of the Grammy-winning ‘The Whole World’.