The 2020 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees have been announced, and the news has sparked a lot of backlash among social media. The inductees this year include industrial rock icons Nine Inch Nails, as well as hip-hop legend The Notorious B.I.G., and late pop diva Whitney Houston. This has set off some controversy on Twitter, as many seem to disagree with the addition of the non-rock artists.
Breaking News: Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails and the Notorious B.I.G. are among this year’s group of inductees to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame https://t.co/EuSMx9tCVS
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 15, 2020
“So many deserving ‘rock’ acts still waiting and Biggie and Whitney go in? Both are top shelf talent in their genres, and their inclusion in a music hall of fame a must, but the rock and roll hof? Change the name,” one frustrated user wrote.
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“Because when you think rock and roll Whitney Houston and Notorious B.I.G are the first things that come to mind,” another quipped.
Whitney and BIG are great artists but both not even damn close to rock?! What are they thinking
— 🌑L🌘Ü🌗K🌖Ë🌕 (@Skywatson_1) January 15, 2020
“I rocked out so hard to ‘I Will Always Love You’ last night. Matter of fact my neck hurts from head banging,” someone else.
“Whitney’s genre was R&B, gospel and pop. She was awesome, but not a rocker, at all, so the museum needs to change its name and not pretend rock and roll means pop, R&B, rap, etc. Who are the voters??? No rocker would say Whitney was a rock singer…!” one other user exclaimed.
Wow well you cannot get any heavier rock than songs like “I Will Always Love You” or “How Will I Know”….they always appear in my rock “compilations” with the likes of Sabbath, Priest, the Crue, Van Halen, Zeppelin etc etc. #LockUpTheRockNRollHallofFame
— President Donald Dunce (@Unfreebird) January 15, 2020
At least one person, however, expressed that they were surprised other hip-hop acts aside from B.I.G. did not get inducted or even nominated.
“Amazed that Biggie is the only rapper getting in to the #RockHall2020 when his first album came out the same year as Outkast and Nas and after very mainstream acts like Snoop and LL Cool J,” the user commented.
The full list of 2020 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees were as follows: Pat Benatar, Dave Matthews Band, Depeche Mode, The Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Judas Priest, Kraftwerk, MC5, Motörhead, Nine Inch Nails, The Notorious B.I.G., Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Todd Rundgren, Soundgarden, T. Rex, and Thin Lizzy.
Photo Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
