Special Ed, C.L. Smooth, and Dres participated in a panel discussion commemorating 50 years of Hip-Hop at D.C.'s National Hip-Hop Museum on Saturday (3/11). The discussion was part of the museum's Grand Induction Ceremony which also included a posthumous induction of Tame One of The Artifacts.

The hour-long discussion hosted by ROCK THE BELLS radio's Grandmaster Caz and ROCK THE BELLS writer JayQuan was centered on Hip-Hop's 50th birthday, where the culture has been, and where it needs to go moving forward.

Much of the conversation was about the content of current rap music and the need for more balance in the music.

"Why are you coming into Hip-Hop? What is your position and message here?" Special Ed questioned. "You can't come in here and think that you're gonna bring the streets to art and live to tell about it."

C.L. Smooth stressed the importance of family and education. "The life that Hip-Hop gives you takes you all around the world, and I'm grateful that I'm cultured in that way," he explained. "In my family, education is the biggest thing."

Dres of Black Sheep spoke about the importance of the ownership of intellectual property and learning the music business as well as the art of music.

The induction ceremony ended with performances from Special Ed and Dres, and Hip-Hop Legends Donald D of Rhyme Syndicate and The B-Boys, Sweet G of The Disco Fever, Disco Bee of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5, and Chi Ali were all on hand at the event. During the ceremony, artist Kevin "Scene" Lewis painted a portrait of Trugoy of De La Soul and the museum's chief fabricator Davino created a cake onsite in the shape of a cassette tape with the images of the inductees.

See a clip of the panel discussion above.