On May 12th, Rock Hall announced the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, with LL Cool J making it onto the list.
To be eligible, artists are required to have released their first record 25 years prior to induction.
There are four categories: The Performer category, the Early Influencer Award, the Musical Excellence Award, and the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
The 36th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 30, 2021 at 8 p.m. ET at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
LL Cool J is inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
On May 12th the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced the list of inductees for 2021, which includes Jay Z, Carole King, Foo Fighters, and Tina Turner.
LL Cool J has finally earned his place in the “Musical Excellence” category after being nominated six times over the years.
LL Cool J shared a photograph of the news on his Instagram, and captioned it: “You can do anything you put your mind to. Thank you.”
John Sykes, chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation said in a statement:
“This diverse class of talented inductees reflects the Hall’s ongoing commitment to honor artists whose music created the sound of youth culture. It will make for an unforgettable live celebration of music in October at this year’s Induction Ceremony in Cleveland.”
Full list of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees 2021
Performer Category:
- Tina Turner
- Carole King
- The Go-Go’s
- JAY-Z
- Foo Fighters
- Todd Rundgren
Early Influence Award:
- Kraftwerk
- Charley Patton
- Gil Scott-Heron
Musical Excellence Award:
- LL Cool J
- Billy Preston
- Randy Rhoads
Ahmet Ertegun Award:
- Clarence Avant
Twitter reacts to LL Cool J joining the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
On April 5th 2021, former Def Jam executive Lyor Cohen wrote a Billboard op-ed shaming the Rock Hall for leaving LL COOL J out. He wrote:
“I thought it was important to make the case in public for one of this year’s nominees, my colleague LL Cool J, with whom I worked for years. Mr. James Smith has been eligible for induction since 2010 and he’s been nominated for inclusion six times. But he’s never been voted in. And I think that that failure speaks to the limitations of too many of the HOF’s voters.”
He continued: “How the heck has LL Cool J been overlooked? He was a phenomenal and ground-breaking rapper from the very beginning, as deeply steeped in rock as he was in the soul, funk, and rap that preceded him.”
People on Twitter have been sharing their excitement over the news that LL Cool J has been inducted into the Hall of Fame, with many stating that this induction is long overdue.