Celebrities often honor their idols through their art in forms of acting, fashion, music, dance, and more, but how often do they get the chance to present them with an award of achievement? Kendrick Lamar will induct iconic hip-hop collective, N.W.A, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on April 8 at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, New York.
N.W.A. aren't the only artists receiving recognition on the big night. American rock band Cheap Trick, politically charged rock band Chicago, English rock band Dark Purple, and San Francisco rock band Steve Miller are also being inducted. Lamar will join Kid Rock, The Black Keys, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, and Rob Thomas to help present these acts.
Lamar has never remained silent about his admiration for the fellow Compton natives who helped pioneer gangsta rap music. He shared a powerful tribute to the late Eazy-E and the rest of the N.W.A members with Paper magazine, detailing the personal influence they had on him and how they transformed storytelling into an art form.
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"People were scared to talk about these kinds of tough situations, but because [Eazy] and the group took it upon themselves to talk about [these things], every artist is able to and they owe it to him," Lamar told Paper in their October "Nostalgia" issue.
N.W.A (Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was made up of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, MC Ren, and DJ Yella. The group remained active from 1986 to 1991, with a partial reunion from 1998 to 2002. Shocking the world and the music industry with their new wave of intimate and controversial lyrics, N.W.A went on to sell over 10 million units in the United States alone. They were ranked number 83 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" list.
N.W.A was initially nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 and again in 2013. It wasn't until 2015 that the committee announced the group would be a part of the 2016 inductees class. Ice Cube and Dr. Dre went on to produce a 2015 biopic called Straight Outta Compton, mirroring the name of N.W.A's first album. The movie dominated the box office for weeks.
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"He's not only the birth of gangsta rap," the multi-Grammy Award winning rapper added. "But he's the birth of a whole legacy of being able to say what you want to say on a record and not being in fear of what others may think and not offending your own art and your own reflection."
The 31st annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on April 8, with HBO filming the event for an April 30 broadcast. Tickets are available here.
