Hip-hop and rap artists can significantly impact the development, evolution and preservation of rock ’n’ roll, therefore these artists have just as much of a right to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Founded in 1983, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is known for honoring artists and performers by recognizing their musical excellence and contribution to rock ’n’ roll history.
In 1986, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its first group of inductees: Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and the Everly Brothers.
All of who were artists in different genres of rock.
But over the decades, music evolved in so many ways that the characteristics that made rock ’n’ roll so groundbreaking can be found in artists such as The Notorious B.I.G. and Whitney Houston.
Both of whom are now nominees for the Hall of Fame.
“Rock ’n’ roll is not an instrument; rock ’n’ roll is not even a style of music. Rock ’n’ roll is a spirit,” rapper Ice Cube said during N.W.A.’s 2016 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction acceptance speech.
“It’s been going since the blues, jazz, bebop, soul, rhythm and blues, rock ’n’ roll, heavy metal, punk rock and, yes, hip-hop,” he said. “And what connects us all is that spirit.”
Groups like N.W.A. preserve that spirit of pushing new musical boundaries that classic rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Doors or Black Sabbath had when they brought new sounds no one had ever heard before.
But does that make hip-hop a subgenre of rock ’n’ roll?
If it is not, why is there no hip-hop Hall of Fame?
The simple answer is hip-hop artists are pretty much rockstars, despite the fact that they don’t sing or play in a traditional rock band consisting of guitar, bass and drums.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees are chosen if they demonstrate unquestionable musical excellence and talent, according to its website.
The inductees also must have had a significant impact on the development, evolution and preservation of rock ’n’ roll.
Which the hip-hop artists who are already in the Hall of Fame have, for the most part, all done.
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five became the first hip-hop group inducted in 2007, who both broke ground in mixing rock songs into their own unique sounds.
Grandmaster Flash would mix songs like Blondie’s “Rapture” or Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” into his influential DJ cut “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel.”
But it doesn’t end there.
Beastie Boys, inducted in 2012, released their hip-hop debut “Licensed to Ill,” that used much of the electric guitar and samples from bands such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.
Run-DMC, inducted in 2009, famously collaborated with Aerosmith for a cover of “Walk this Way.”
These all show the essence of rock being preserved and even shows how these groups can influence new generations to dig deeper and find the samples, which leads them to discover the original rock bands.
However, some might still disagree and say, “Well, it doesn’t sound like rock ’n’ roll so it shouldn’t count.”
“[It] doesn’t mean those aren’t good artists. But . . . they sample and they talk. Not even sing! . . . If you don’t play guitar and you don’t write your own songs, you don’t belong there,” Gene Simmons, famous bass player for KISS, said.
Simmons slammed Ice Cube during the induction of N.W.A. and said, “They’re legitimate dance, disco artists. They don’t belong in rock ’n’ roll.”
But hip-hop is a part of the heritage of rock ’n’ roll. Therefore, hip-hop artists have every right to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
“Rock ’n’ roll is not conforming to the people who came before you, but creating your own path in music and in life,” Ice Cube said during his acceptance speech.
“You goddamn right we rock ’n’ roll,” Ice Cube said.
