JAY-Z was initially a little hesitant to accept induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and wanted the institution rebranded because he said the genre was “dead,” according to the organization’s leader.
During a recent interview with Vulture, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame chairman John Sykes revealed that JAY-Z would rather have been inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame when his name was on the ballot.
Sykes addressed calls for the Rock Hall to be renamed to reflect its expanded definition of the genre. Referencing inductee Missy Elliott’s description of rock music’s original sound as “a gumbo,” Sykes emphasized the need to do “a better job of communicating to people where rock and roll came from” before turning to Hov.
“The best story to convey this was when a great friend of mine, JAY-Z, got inducted a few years ago. I was so excited,” he recalled. “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.’”
Sykes explained that although JAY-Z “hemmed and hawed,” he showed up when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.
The chairman concluded, “That made me feel like we had done our job to communicate that rock and roll is open to all.”
JAY-Z’s Induction To Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame
JAY-Z was joined by Foo Fighters, The Go-Go’s, Carole King, Todd Rundgren, and Tina Turner as part of the 2021 Class.
“It’s an incredible honor,” he said during his acceptance speech. “Growing up, we ain’t think we could be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We were told that Hip Hop was a fad. And much like punk rock, it gave us this anti-culture, this subgenre, and there were heroes in it.”