Rock ‘n’ roll fame for rap pioneers?
Will the third time be the charm for rap’s entrance into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five is once again among the finalists for induction after the pioneering hip-hop group’s previous two appearances on that list didn’t generate enough sway with the hall’s voters to make the final cut, generating considerable criticism within the hip-hop community.
Besides Flash, this year’s nine contenders are Patti Smith, the Stooges, R.E.M., Van Halen, the Dave Clark Five, Joe Tex, the Ronettes and Chic.
R.E.M. is the only act newly eligible for induction, which requires that 25 years have elapsed from the release of the act’s first single or album.
The names of five inductees will be announced in January and those acts will be inducted at a ceremony slated for March 12 in New York.
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Randy Lewis
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