The nominees for induction into the 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced Thursday, and Janet Jackson, the Spinners, Chaka Khan and trend-setting rap group N.W.A are four of the 15 acts up for the honor, USA Today reports.
It’s a great look for soul, funk, R&B and hip-hop music. In order to be nominated for induction, each nominee must have released their first single or album at least 25 years ago.
“It’s not necessarily how many records you’ve sold,” Joel Peresman, the CEO and president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, explained. “It’s about what your influence in the arts is.”
Janet Jackson’s comeback album and world tour no doubt put her back in people’s peripheries. Same goes for hip-hop vets N.W.A and their Straight Outta Compton biopic, which catapulted their legacies back into the memories of music lovers.
Music-industry professionals, artists and historians will vote on who will be inducted, and the honorees will be announced in December.
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Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele is a staff writer at The Root and the founder and executive producer of Lectures to Beats, a Web series that features video interviews with scarily insightful people. Follow Lectures to Beats on Facebook and Twitter.
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