In recent years, the Cleveland, Ohio-based Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has done a better job of inducting influential acts that aren’t “rock,” in the traditional definition of the genre. In 2024, it was A Tribe Called Quest and Cher. In 2023, Missy Elliott. In 2022, Eminem. And so on.
When asked whether the name of the museum should be changed to the Music Hall Of Fame, chairman John Sykes told Vulture, “Rather than throwing the name out, [the Hall is] doing a better job of communicating to people where rock and roll came from and what it’s truly about. Once they hear it that way, they understand.”
He then gave a specific example involving Jay-Z.
“The best story to convey this was when a great friend of mine, Jay-Z, got inducted a few years ago,” Sykes said. “I was so excited. But he told me, ‘Rock is dead. It should be called the Hip-Hop Hall Of Fame.’ And I said, ‘Well, hip-hop is rock and roll.’ He goes, ‘No, it isn’t.’ And I said, ‘We’ve got to do a better job explaining it. Little Richard, Otis Redding, Chuck Berry — these artists were the cornerstones of rock and roll. If you look at the sounds over the years, those artists ended up influencing hip-hop.’ Jay-Z hemmed and hawed, but he showed up to the ceremony. That made me feel like we had done our job to communicate that rock and roll is open to all.”
Well, everyone except Chic, Iron Maiden, and The Smiths, that is.