Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter will be the latest Hip Hop recording artist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. On Wednesday morning (May 12), the RRHF revealed the latest batch of legends to make it into the Cleveland-based museum.
The iconic Brooklyn emcee will join Foo Fighters, The Go-Go’s, Carole King, Todd Rundgren, and Tina Turner as part of the 2021 Class. Hip Hop star James “LL Cool J” Smith – as well as Billy Preston and Randy Rhoads – were named as Musical Excellence Award recipients. Kraftwerk, Charley Patton, and Gil Scott-Heron are being honored with the Early Influence Award.
“This diverse class of talented Inductees reflects the Rock Hall’s ongoing commitment to honor artists whose music created the sound of youth culture”, said John Sykes, Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “It will make for an unforgettable live celebration of music in October at this year’s Induction Ceremony in Cleveland.”
Jay-Z’s legacy will now be immortalized in the Rock Hall alongside a handful of rap acts previously initiated by the RRHF Foundation. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five (2007), Run-D.M.C. (2009), Beastie Boys (2012), Public Enemy (2013), N.W.A (2016), 2Pac (2017), and The Notorious B.I.G. (2020) have all been enshrined in the Hall.
Mary J. Blige was on the shortlist for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Class of 2021. It was the Queen of Hip Hop Soul’s first nomination. LL Cool J was also nominated this year, but voters rejected the New York native’s induction into the Hall for the sixth time.
Jay-Z will enter the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame as one of the most commercially and critically successful Hip Hop artists in history. His discography includes near-universally accepted classic studio LPs like 1996’s Reasonable Doubt, 2001’s The Blueprint, 2003’s The Black Album, and 2017’s 4:44.
In addition, the billionaire Roc Nation founder holds the record for most solo No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 with 14 chart-toppers. He also leads the list of most Grammy wins by a rapper with 23 trophies which also puts him in 9th place on the list of most victories all time.
In order to be eligible for a Rock Hall nomination, artists are required to have released their first record 25 years prior to induction. Ballots were sent to an international voting body of more than 1,200 members of the music industry. Fans were also able to vote for up to five nominees per day during the voting period.
The 36th annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony is scheduled for October 30 at 8 pm ET at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland with a radio simulcast on SiriusXM’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Radio channel 310. The Induction Ceremony will broadcast on HBO and stream on HBO Max at a later date.