Kool & The Gang and A Tribe Called Quest know how to celebrate…
The soul/funk legends and hip-hop pioneers toasted their inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with a star-studded after-party that brought out Dave Chappelle, Jennifer Hudson, Common and fellow inductees Mary J. Blige and Suzanne de Passe.
The party took over Cleveland’s House of Blues following a five-hour ceremony at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Saturday night — with DJ Red Alert, DJ Prince Hakim, DJ Ike and Tribe’s Jarobi White spinning on separate floors.
Talib Kweli performed two new songs as well, we’re told.
On the second floor, Chappelle surprised guests by jumping onstage with his own impromptu concert.
The comedian had a jazz band backing him up as he sang R&B and hip hop classics, interspersed with jokes, natch.
Hudson joined him on the stage and Chappelle later passed the mic to her boyfriend, Common.
Public Enemy’s Flava Flav was on the drums, and Blige even rapped!
In typical Chappelle fashion, “he asked the crowd to shut off their phones,” for a few minutes to pay homage to the night’s honorees, including his late bandmate, Phife Dawg, a partygoer told Page Six.
Chuck D, Leon, Billy Idol, Law Roach, Maseo and Posdnuos of De La Soul and author Bill Perkins were also a few of the VIPs who also attended.
Tia Sinclair-Bell — the widow of Kool & the Gang founding member Ronald “Khalis” Bell — planned the party, and the celebration took inspiration from the band’s “Wild & Peaceful” album.
Giant animal topiaries greeted guests as they entered, and partiers sipped on the band’s line of bubbly, LeKool Champagne.
The crowd dispersed at around 4a.m. with a bags filled with warm doughnuts.
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