The latest nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were recently announced, and they include Whitney Houston, The Notorious B.I.G. and Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, which marks the funk band’s fourth time being nominated.
As for Houston and Biggie, it’s their very first time being placed on the ballot.
According to Rolling Stone, each nominee had to have their first single or album released in 1994 or before to be nominated.
The artists that get the most votes will be announced in January and then be inducted on May 2, 2020, at Public Hall in Cleveland. There will be over 1,000 people involved in the voting process, including people from the music industry, journalists, historians and artists.
Fans will also be a part of the process, because they can either vote at the rockhall.com website or in kiosks located in Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum.
In a newly released statement, Rock Hall chairman John Sykes addressed how the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has changed over the years, considering hip-hop artists are now included.
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were the first rap artists to be inducted into the Hall in 2007, and other hip-hop acts to make it in include Run DMC, Public Enemy, N.W.A. and Tupac Shakur.
“Nothing stays the same in music,” said Sykes. “Therefore, really, the institution that honors it has to evolve with all the music. Just like hip-hop is very much a part of the Hall of Fame now, everything we do — the board members we have, the events we build on — has to reflect a changing culture.”
Despite the huge name he made for himself, The Notorious B.I.G. only released two studio albums before he was murdered in Los Angeles in 1997, “Ready to Die” and “Life After Death.”
Houston, meanwhile, released seven albums before her death in 2012, the first being her self-titled debut in 1985 and the last 2009’s “I Look to You.”
Rufus’ first album, also self-titled, came in 1973 and throughout their run the band, with Khan as the lead singer, released hits like “Sweet Thing” and “Tell Me Something Good.”
The band would also be a major launching pad for Khan, born Yvette Marie Stevens, who dropped her first solo album “Chaka” in 1978. Her latest LP “Hello Happiness” was released in February of this year.
Other acts nominated into the Hall include the bands Depeche Mode, Soundgarden, the Dave Matthews Band and the Doobie Brothers.
