LOL at people saying NWA shouldn't get in because they're rap and not rock.

There are soul, blues, heavy metal, folk, reggae, disco, pop, jazz and country performers in the Hall, who never played Rock n Roll. Rap shouldn't be treated any differently.

Posted by Patrick on Friday, 01/25/2013 @ 11:24am

Heavy metal is rock, okay? It is Very Hard Rock.
I can't expect this moronic Hall to grasp that when it snubs everybody from Slayer and Motorhead to Jethro Tull and Judas Priest for a decade or more

It is certainly more "rock" than tons of acts inducted. Now, whether you want to sit and around and debate the merit of a Public Enemy or a Randy Newman or a Donna Summers in a vacuum and within their genres is fine but most people don't consider Donna Summers to be a rock band.

The behavior of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is like there being a Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Hall of Fame inducting smooth jazz and singer-songwriter stuff just because they are good to brilliant.

The Hall is so schizophrenic and watered down now.

Posted by Neckbeard on Wednesday, 02/27/2013 @ 10:33am

That was a great rant and all, but "Hard Rock and Heavy Metal" is fairly specific. "Rock and Roll" is a much more inclusive, umbrella-like term. Almost every genre today, with very few exceptions, did evolve from or intertwined alongside rock and roll.

Posted by Paul K on Friday, 03/1/2013 @ 01:33am

Just a question about your commit, Paul. Doses that make people like Carly Ray Jepsen and One Direction are rock and roll?

Posted by Andrew on Friday, 03/1/2013 @ 12:06pm

Absolutely. Carly Rae Jepsen is pop rock, and One Direction is power pop, and they're both dance-oriented. Neither one seems remotely Hall of Fame/2030's classic rock station caliber, but they're both under the general term "rock".

Posted by Paul K on Friday, 03/1/2013 @ 12:22pm

One last thing Paul, do you ever read commets that I post on people like Sam Cooke and Chuck Berry? And if so, what do you think about them?

Posted by Andrew on Friday, 03/1/2013 @ 14:38pm

Gotta tell you, as a 30-something white guy I was "working" the show for the concert promoter when I saw these guys. I wasn't into hip hop or whatever genre of music they presented. And as a 50-something now, I'm still not a big fan of hip hop. But when I saw them I was BLOWN AWAY. They were fabulous, fantastic, whathever adjective you want to use to describe really, really good. These guys deserve to get in!

Posted by Zod Blutto on Tuesday, 03/19/2013 @ 11:52am

Don't worry, there is definitely a 90% chance of NWA being inducted next year.......unless the voters pull off something dumb.

Posted by Good Tastes on Saturday, 05/18/2013 @ 09:00am

Ok. I get that rap doesn't technically fit in ROCK music in sole terms of genre. But if Rap musicians shouldn't be in the RRHOF then neither should the following: ABBA, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Johnny Cash, Otis Redding, James Taylor, Carole King, ANYBODY FROM THE MOTOWN LABEL, really just choose someone who didn't play in a four piece band. To me, rock and roll is a blanket statement for any modern music genre that can trace itself back to the originals of the genre. And considering that rap is basically a more populist form of rock, Due to the fact that a lot of its originators came from backgrounds where the family/school/community could not afford to give them actual instruments, they ended up peiceing together from their favorite songs in order to create something new. Just like most musicians ever. Not to mention, rap haters, have you tried to rap or work a turntable? It actually requires a certain type of musicality that even honest to god rock musicians can't master. It requires rhythm, a knowledge of percussion, and the willingness to be creative at a moment's notice. Not to mention Rap holds to the ideals of rock and roll. Creativity, inviduality, ingenuity, and fearlessness. I mean Ice Cube is not for the pop charts for a reason.So please hate on rap all you want but to be absolutely honest, modern American music would have stagnated as soon a Nirvana ended.

Posted by RoRo on Monday, 05/20/2013 @ 14:25pm

Ice Cube was a poet and Dre was a multi instrumentalist so yah they deserve to get in. And eventually a LOT more rap artists will get in because rap had a period of time were it was making the best quality music and I think rap makes the best music right now.

Posted by TooLate on Sunday, 07/21/2013 @ 01:24am

They'll probably get in, but I'll pass on this poetry.

Posted by Cheesecrop on Monday, 07/22/2013 @ 20:11pm

List of Hip-Hop Acts that deserve induction

*Means definetly soon or soon when eligble
^Means Eventual
•Means already inducted

•Public Enemy
•Run-D.M.C.
•Beastie Boys
•Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5
*N.W.A.
*LL Cool J
*Afrika Bambaataa
*Eric B. & Rakim
*De La Soul
*A Tribe Called Quest
*2Pac
*Notorious B.I.G.
*Dr. Dre (Probably as a producer)
*Eminem
*OutKast
*Jay-Z
*Kanye West
^Nas
^Ice-T
*Wu-Tang Clan
^Lauryn Hill (or the Fugees)
^Missy Elliot
^Kool Herc
^KRS-One
^Puff Daddy (as a producer)
*Russel Simmons (non-performer)
*Rick Rubin (as a producer)

One can't deny their affect on rock and roll this far.

Posted by TooLate on Sunday, 03/30/2014 @ 23:40pm

NO JUST NO... Where do I start these talentless hacks (gangsta rap is responsible for the decline of Hip-Hop) were a gangsta rap group... One of the trailblazers in that genre... Unfortunately they will get inducted eventually due to pioneering a terrible subgenre (Gangsta Rap)... All I have to say is it's a shame only one of them caught AIDS (Rest in Piss Eazy E)... Regrettably I have to say yes... Now back to my positive Alternative Hip-Hop.

Posted by Michael on Sunday, 05/11/2014 @ 18:54pm

Ps: The D.O.C. Was the only member with any real talent... But that was all destroyed by a car crash.

Posted by Michael on Sunday, 05/11/2014 @ 18:59pm

It's nice to see that all that positive alt-hip hop has made you a very positive person, rather than the sort of person who'd take the piss (pun unintended) out of a dead man.

Posted by GFW on Monday, 05/12/2014 @ 11:45am

It occurred to me yesterday during a discussion with a friend that NWA would not be likely to make it in the Hall this year despite being the only Hip Hop act on the ballot, and it wouldn't be because they are a Rap group. It is because they are such a controversial group for their lyrical content and style. You just have to look at the history of other groups with the HOF who were subject of controversy or were considered somewhat *extreme*:
The Sex Pistols took 5 nominations to get past the voters, The Stooges had to wait 15 years and 8 nominations, Black Sabbath took 10 years and 8 nominations, MC5 has waited 23 years and only been nominated 1 time. Ozzie Osborne has been eligible for about 10 years now as a solo artists and has received no nomination. And we all have seen the large number of complaints from Metal fans regarding the lack of recognition for their very popular, but also generally controversial and extreme subgenre.

The voters for the HOF are a pretty mainstream group ultimately, and tend to be reticent about these types of acts. NWA would really fit in well with the types of acts that I mentioned above, and thus likely will have to wait awhile yet.

Posted by shrek on Tuesday, 10/21/2014 @ 15:56pm

Hopefully the new movie about N.W.A. "Straight Outta Compton" will help there chances!

Posted by Ryan on Tuesday, 04/28/2015 @ 16:58pm

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Posted by Roy on Thursday, 04/7/2016 @ 05:49am

thought this was rock and roll hall of fame...why isnt garth brooks or loretta lyn in here..how about mozart......exactly there not in the rock and roll category either.... there should be a rap hall of fame..they dont belong here...

Posted by john on Monday, 08/15/2016 @ 11:02am

Oh look, a rockist. How original.

I guess you missed the part where Hank Williams and Johnny Cash were inducted.

Posted by dmg on Monday, 08/15/2016 @ 20:19pm

Jerry Heller RIP

Posted by Roy on Saturday, 09/3/2016 @ 22:59pm

227. N.W.A — DJ Yella, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy-E, and Dr. Dre (2016)

I know Ice Cube is a formidable performer; he's also the author of the dulcet couplet, "You let a Jew / Break up our crew" and an adherent of other anti-Semitic nonsense I don't recall him ever disassociating himself from, much less apologizing for. I know that Dre is one of music's most important producers; he's also a guy who beats up women. And I know "Fck Tha Police" is a notable song; but I also know that its genesis came when Dre and Eazy-E were caught driving around Compton with a paint gun, shooting at people at bus stops — that is to say, ruining the clothes of working folks going to a crap-paying job to feed their lame kids. These guys are all real gems. N.W.A is more than a footnote in rock history, but there's not much to the group beyond their first album.

-Bill Wyman

Posted by Roy on Monday, 11/14/2022 @ 11:02am

Just listened to every NWA album for the first time, this makes 2016 the first year where I've listened to every inductee. 2019 is also really close cause I've listened to every album from every act that year except for Janet.


Anyway Straight outta Compton is a really great album


And I've got a theory that they're saving Dr Dre solo for an AME or Ahmet Ertegun award in any year where no rap acts are voted in. Dre has 3 solo albums (all acclaimed and iconic), but he's extremely notable for his role as executive. And if Iovine (a noted producer and engineer before his executive stuff) then I think Dre would also go in under Ahmet and reserve AME for like J Geils Band or Chic

Posted by Will m on Sunday, 02/11/2024 @ 07:03am