The details of 2016’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have been announced, with Kendrick Lamar inducting NWA and Kid Rock inducting Cheap Trick.
As well as the aforementioned rap group and Midwestern rock band, the other class of 2016 inductees will include Deep Purple, the Steve Miller Band and Chicago.
According to reports, Compton native and multiple Grammy award winner Kendrick Lamar will honour the rap pioneers during the ceremony. Dre has appeared on Lamar’s previous albums, while Lamar cites the rap group as his key inspiration, appearing in an introductory video for the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton. In October last year, Lamar also praised NWA’s Eazy-E for Paper magazine’s three-part series celebrating late legends of rap.
“People were scared to talk about these kinds of tough situations, but because [Eazy] and the group took it upon themselves to talk about [these things], every artist is able to and they owe it to him,” Lamar said. “He’s not only the birth of gangsta rap, but he’s the birth of a whole legacy of being able to say what you want to say on a record and not being in fear of what others may think and not offending your own art and your own reflection.”
Over 800 voters of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation selected this year’s inductees. Nile Rogers’ Chic failed to win induction in their 10th year as a nominee, while Janet Jackson, The Cars, Los Lobos and Yes were also rejected.
The Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony will be held on 8 April at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
