Jay Z First Rapper Inducted Into Songwriters Hall of Fame

[NelsonG]

Jay Z has become the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The 2017 class of inductees also includes Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Max Martin, and Robert Lamm, James Pankow, and Peter Cetera of Chicago. (Berry Gordy, who deferred his induction from last year, also joins them.) The announcement was made earlier today on "CBS This Morning" by Nile Rodgers. The other artists nominated for this year's class who were not chosen were Madonna, George Michael, Sly Stone, Bryan Adams, Vince Gill, Kool & the Gang, Cat Stevens, Gloria Estefan, Jeff Lynne, and David Gates. The induction ceremony takes place June 15 at the Marriott Marquis in New York. Songwriters become eligible for induction after having a songwriting career of at least 20 years.

“To be honest with you, last year we talked about it a lot,” Linda Moran, president of the Hall of Fame, told the New York Times about Jay Z’s induction: “Our board and community wasn’t ready. This year we felt that they had been educated enough.” She added that Jay Z was “so over the moon” about the induction. “He was flipping out, he was going crazy,” she said.

Watch Pitchfork.tv’s “Liner Notes” for Jay Z’s The Blueprint:

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