The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its inductees on Wednesday and one of the names inducted will be rap legend, the Notorious B.I.G., posthumously.
This brought up the tired argument of whether or not rappers and hip-hop artists belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, in an establishment that includes names like Aretha Franklin and B.B. King, this isn’t about “rock n roll” — it is about having a rock attitude in your music.
Notorious B.I.G. had that attitude, and he is joining some great company.
2020 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees
The 2020 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction announcements have a very eclectic mix.
For the rock fans, Nine Inch Nails finally made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, deservedly so. The Doobie Brothers also finally made it in, 24 years after they became eligible.
Alt-rock legends Depeche Mode made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year as well as English glam-rock band, T-Rex.
There were also two posthumous selections in Whitney Houston, who has been eligible since 2010, and rap legend Notorious B.I.G., in his first year of eligibility.
The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Class Of 2020 is:
Depeche Mode
The Doobie Brothers
Whitney Houston
Nine Inch Nails
The Notorious B.I.G.
T. RexJon Landau and Irving Azoff also will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award.https://t.co/DpSrlbUw0e
— Stephen Thomas Erlewine (@sterlewine) January 15, 2020
How many rappers are in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Notorious B.I.G. is now the seventh rap/hip-hop artist to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The first came back in 2007 when the Rock Hall inducted Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. That caused a lot of hand-wringing and loud protests, but over time, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame proved they didn’t care and added even more iconic names.
Grandmaster Flash was followed by Run-D.M.C. (2009), Beastie Boys (2012), Public Enemy (2013), and N.W.A. (2016). Finally, in 2017 a solo rapper was inducted when 2Pac made it, posthumously.
Three years after the late West Coast rap star 2Pac was enshrined, fans of his East Coast rival Notorious B.I.G. heard his name called as well.
https://twitter.com/PacSongs/status/1217483118791266304
Notorious B.I.G. only released two albums while he was alive, Ready to Die and Life After Death. He also had two posthumous albums in Born Again and Duets: The Final Chapter.
His two studio albums went six-times platinum and 11-times platinum in the United States. The two albums following his death went double-platinum and single-platinum.
Since his death, several artists have sampled his music, including Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Michael Jackson, and Usher.