Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2017: Tupac, Pearl Jam, Yes and More Headed To The Hall

Well, the votes are in. After weeks of counting and deliberating, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has officially turned in the names of its 2017 class of inductees. This year, Tupac Shakur will join Journey, Electric Light Orchestra, Joan Baez, Yes and Pearl Jam as the latest grip of music heavies headed to the halls. The induction of Tupac, following NWA's inclusion on last year's bill, marks only the sixth hip-hop artist to make way to the hall.

Not even someone as foundational to hip-hop as Nile Rodgers has been able to get past honorable mention, as he's now been passed on an unprecedented eleven times since first becoming eligible for consideration. The voting committee has extended an olive branch to Rodgers, however, awarding him with what used to be the sideman honor, now simply dubbed as an award for musical excellence. According to The New York Times, that award was once given to Ringo Starr and ten members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. So while we're glad to see that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is at least trying to breakout from its snatch-up-all-the-90s-rock-icons mode, they're gonna need to do a little more to prove their commitment to being an inclusive organization.

Or we can just take Steve Miller's word for it and dismiss the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as the exploitative and antiquated thing it is. However you regard it, the ceremony will take place on April 7th at Brooklyn Barclays Center, with a broadcast to follow on HBO at some point next year.