Amongst the all-time greatest musical acts of any genre (nevermind hip-hop,) news that Public Enemy are among those selected for the 2013 class of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, is welcomed news. It's also a bit of a no-brainer. As the creators of one of hip-hop's greatest albums, It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, their inclusion was set the day that album was released. Still, the official induction is very cool.
Rush, Heart and Public Enemy are among the six acts to be inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum at a ceremony in Los Angeles next May. The other honorees will be the bluesman Albert King, the disco queen Donna Summer and the songwriter Randy Newman.
The decision to give Rush, the Canadian progressive-rock power trio, a berth in the hall rectifies what some in the music industry have considered a glaring oversight in past years. Since its 1976 breakthrough album “2112,” the band has released almost nothing but gold and platinum albums, even though its album-oriented style only produced a few hit singles, chief among them “New World Man” in 1982.
Donna Summer’s elevation to the hall just months after she died of cancer also appeared intended to make up for ignoring her in the past. She had been nominated several times but never chosen. When she died in May, many influential figures in pop music, among them Elton John, said it was shameful that she had not been recognized.
Selecting Public Enemy, the seminal rap group known for politically charged lyrics and hits like “Fight the Power,” may also signal a turning point for the hall. (N.W.A. was also nominated but passed over by the voters.)
