Jay-Z on the Steps of City Hall Downtown Los Angeles for a Labor Day Music Festival (Getty)
Jay-Z is being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is considered to be the first rapper in history to become an inductee. The rapper sent out a tweet shortly around the time the news was announced to share with everyone the importance of his induction not only for him but for Hip-Hop and America.
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.
Jay-Z released his debut album Reasonable Doubt in 1996 and has managed to produce eleven other solo albums since his beginnings. He’s also released collaborations albums with R. Kelly and Kanye West. Altogether he has sold 55 million studio albums worldwide and all of his works have gone Platinum.
To celebrate his induction and this historic moment for Hip-Hop, Jay-Z has also put together a special playlist on Tidal. The playlist features fifteen songs created by Hip-Hop artists who Jay believes should be in the Hall of Fame as well. It holds material from artist like Biggie, 2Pac, Eminem, Lauryn Hill, Outkast, and Mos Def.
The induction ceremony will take place on Thursday, Jun 15th at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in NYC. Songwriters like Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Barry Gordy, Robert Lamm, James Pankow & Peter Cetera, p/k/a “Chicago,” and Max Martin will also be inducted along with Jay-Z this year.