"His voice was so powerful—like a foghorn on the Queen Mary", Stewart told Rolling Stone in 2005. The cover art of Ruffin's last album, Gentleman Ruffin, was the inspiration for the art of rapper Wiz Khalifa's mixtape Kush & Orange Juice. In 2013, David Ruffin was inducted twice into the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame at Cleveland State University. He is inducted as a solo artist and member of the Temptations. Ruffin is also inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. In June 2019, the city of Detroit unveiled "David Ruffin Avenue" as the secondary street name where he formerly lived at 17385 Parkside. The ceremony was hosted by the founder LaMont Robinson of the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. It was attended by Ruffin's family and friends including Martha Reeves and Mary Wilson. On October 26, 2019, the city of Meridian ceremonially named a section of 8th Street near the Temple Theatre "David Ruffin Boulevard." Ruffin was born in nearby rural Whynot, but claimed Meridian as home. Ruffin's family was in attendance for honor and the unveiling of his star on Mississippi's Arts + Entertainment Experience's walk of fame. During the celebrations, Jackson State University's "Sonic Boom of the South" marching band led a parade. Lamont Robinson, head of the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame and also Ruffin's son-in-law, presented the idea to Meridian. In popular culture In 1998, NBC aired The Temptations, a four-hour television miniseries about the group's career, Ruffin was portrayed by Leon Robinson (who is usually credited as simply "Leon" as his professional name). The actor won high praise for his performance, but Ruffin's family was upset by the way the series portrayed him, and filed a lawsuit against the series' producers and Otis Williams, whose memoir had been the source material. The case was dismissed in favor of the defendants, with Williams later claiming that he had no real control over the presentation of the material. Grand Puba of Brand Nubian referenced the singer on the 1990 single "All for One", stating: "I hit a beat and swing a note as if my name was David Ruffin." Rapper Machine Gun Kelly also referenced the singer on his 2013 song "See My Tears" stating: "Fought every temptation shit, I guess I'm David Ruffin, huh?" In 2019, rapper Lil Durk referenced David Ruffin on a song of the same