LL Cool J Is The Only Rapper Nominated For 2018 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

BYAron A.Updated on September 26, 20226.2K Views

LL Cool J performs onstage during the Meadows Music and Arts Festival - Day 2 at Citi Field on September 16, 2017 in New York City.

LL Cool J may be heading for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.

The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame is an huge acknowledgement in music. The name might be a tad misleading considering that it's not exclusively held for the genre of rock & roll. However, there was a point where hip hop wasn't recognized but that's changed over the years. We've seen more hip hop artists get nominated and inducted into the prestigious institution. While hip hop is still a new genre, it's not as common as we'd hope for. However, they recently revealed this years nominees and hip hop only has one guy in the realms.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame unveiled their nominees for potential 2018 inductees. Among the nominees is LL Cool J. The rapper is one of the originals in hip hop and was also one of the biggest artists in the genre at the time. To say that he's deserving of the nomination is an understatement. An artist's debut album must have be 25 years old in order to be considered as a nomination. LL dropped his debut album Radio in 1985 and has been eligible for a position in the revered Hall Of Fame since 2009. However, this is actually the fourth time he's been nominated. The rapper was previously in the ranking in 2010, 2011 and 2014. Hopefully, 2018 is finally the time.

Along with LL, other nominees include Nina Simone, Rage Against The Machine, Depeche Mode, Judas Priest, The Meter and Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan, among others. If LL Cool J is finally inducted, he'll be one of the few rappers to be inducted. Public Enemy, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, Beastie Boys, Run DMC, NWA and Tupac are all members of the Hall Of Fame.

The induction of rappers has been controversial to some. Gene Simmons has previously stated his displeasure with the genre and even gained a response from Ice Cube during NWA's induction, where he said "Rock 'n' roll is not conforming to the people who came before us, but creating your own path in music and life." Simmons later replied to the comments on Twitter where he said "Respectfully -- let me know when @JimiHendrix gets into the hip hop hall of fame. Then you'll have a point."

You can't please everybody.

You could check out the nominees and cast your vote here.

About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.