What is rock 'n' roll? Hall of fame ballot fuels debate
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Will Mariah Carey follow in Whitney Houston's footsteps as a Rock Hall inductee? Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
What do Mariah Carey, Cher, Sade, Mary J. Blige and A Tribe Called Quest have in common?
- They're among the nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2024 despite not being traditional "rock" artists.
Why it matters: This year's ballot continues the contentious debate over what types of acts the Rock Hall should honor.
Catch up fast: The list of nominees also includes Dave Matthews Band, Eric B. & Rakim, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Jane's Addiction, Kool & the Gang, Lenny Kravitz, Oasis, Sinéad O'Connor and Ozzy Osbourne.
The intrigue: While there is plenty of rock to go around, half of the nominees fall into genres like hip-hop, pop and R&B.
- It follows a trend of the Rock Hall honoring non-rock artists including Eminem, Missy Elliott, Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson in recent years.
What they're saying: Rock purists like local music historian and former WMMS program director John Gorman aren't pleased.
- "The Rock Hall's nomination system remains broken," Gorman wrote on social media. "There is a fallacy in linking popular music and rock 'n' roll as one in the same. They're not."
The other side: Since becoming chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation in 2020, John Sykes has focused on expanding the traditional definition of rock 'n' roll as a guitar-driven genre.
- "I saw an opportunity to really look back to the original genesis of rock 'n' roll and trace it to the present, which is where hip-hop and R&B and the music that's moving culture today all came from," Sykes told Billboard last year.
Troy's thought bubble: To Sykes' point, rock 'n' roll grew out of a variety of diverse genres like blues, country, jazz and folk.
- The Rock Hall also has to deliver a show on Disney+ and ABC and names like Mariah Carey, Eminem and Dolly Parton are bigger draws than classic rock "snubs" like J. Geils Band, Boston and Bad Company.
What's next: The class of 2024 is scheduled to be announced (and infuriate some people) in late April.
🗣️ Email [email protected] and tell us: Should the Rock Hall be inducting hip-hop, pop and country artists?