2Pac Nominated for 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

In what seems like a foregone conclusion, 2Pac has been nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, along with Bad Brains, Pearl Jam, Chaka Khan and Janet Jackson, the last two having been nominated last year as well. Pac will be eligible to join the 2017 class of inductees, as 25 years are needed to pass after a musician's first release. Pac's debut 2Pacalypse Now dropped in November of 1991, with his first No. 1 album, Me Against the World, dropping nearly four years later.

N.W.A. was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this past April, Kendrick Lamar ushering in the group in Cleveland, Ohio. Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and DJ Yella all spoke, though MC Ren may have delivered the most memorable quote, saying, "And I want to say to Mr. Gene Simmons, hip-hop is here forever! Get used to it! Get used to it! We supposed to be here!”

Cube meanwhile defended their place in the Hall, saying, "You goddamn right we rock and roll. Rock and roll is not an instrument, rock and roll is not even a style of music. Rock and roll is a spirit. It’s been going since the blues, jazz, bebop, soul, R&B, rock and roll, heavy metal, punk rock and yes, hip-hop.” The 2017 inductees will be announced in December. Previous hip-hop acts to be inducted include the Beastie Boys, Run-D.M.C., Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and Public Enemy.

Rappers in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame