2007 will be the first year that a rap group will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The rules of eligibility state that it must be at least 25 years since the the first recording of an artist before they can be inducted. This would mean that The Sugarhill Gang have been eligible since 2004.
The problem is The Sugarhill Gang were never very good, but they are destined to be honored by the Hall of Fame for their contribution of rap's first recording. Kurtis Blow was rap's first cross-over star, the first to chart a certified gold single. He was eligible in 2005, but I think the considerably weak entirety of his eponymous album has stalled his induction.Which is why I think 2007 will be the first year to see rap artists inducted. 1982 was the year of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's debut LP The Message. My prediction is thus: The Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash will be inducted simultaneously as performers in 2007, with Sylvia Robinson (Sugarhill Records producer and co-founder) being inducted in the non-performing category. Kurtis Blow will be inducted the following year.
Thoughts? Rebuttals? Elaborations? Predictions?
it makes me wonder how i keep from going under.
just wrong
Re: just wrong
Re: just wrong
1) The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has already set the precedent of including other genres where they see fit.
2) They've also extended inductions to R&B artists beyond the early progenitors from which rock and roll was born (Parliament, Curtis Mayfield, Earth, Wind & Fire)
3) The Hallf of Fame Museum in Cleveland has tons of display space already devoted to Rap/Hiphop memorabilia and has had more than a few Special Exhibits on its history.
4) Rap is an extension of R&B primarily, especially funk. If Parliament and James Brown are already inductees, then why not rap artists on whose foundation, rather literally, they rest?
5) Rap artists have continuously blurred the line of their genre with rock.
6) Rap may not sound like rock and roll but aesthetically it is.
Do you really think that rap artists will be excluded from the Hall of Fame?
Next year. You'll see. You'll ALL SEE!!!!
Tell all your friends they can go my way