It's a shame that it's taken this long for a rap artist to be celebrated as freely and openly as songwriters of other genres, but Jay Z will make history when he becomes the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.
Not to be confused with the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame - which Tupac Shakur earned a nomination for late last year - the man known as Hova will be inducted into the Hall of Fame after Chic's Nile Rodgers announced the inductees for 2017 on CBS's This Morning.
Jay Z became eligible for the honour last year, when his debut album 'Reasonable Doubt' was 20 years old. He responded to the news on Twitter:
By the way, this is a win for US. I remember when rap was said to be a fad . We are now alongside some of the greatest writers in history.
— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) February 22, 2017
Other inductees include Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds, songwriting team Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Motown boss Berry Gordy, Swedish pop songwriter Max Martin and members of the band Chicago. The ceremony will take place in New York this June.
Watch the announcement, as well as Rodgers discussing Jay Z, below:
JUST ANNOUNCED: @NileRodgers reveals 2017 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees. @SongwritersHOF #SHOF pic.twitter.com/46fbJQcZIL
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) February 22, 2017
“He has changed the way we listen to music.” --@NileRodgers on Jay Z becoming first rapper inducted into 2017 Songwriters Hall of Fame #SHOF pic.twitter.com/rHISmBLRcp
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) February 22, 2017
