By Sewe Ishola

American rapper, Jay Z has become the first rapper to be inducted into the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame with the latest names of inductees released by the lofty organisation.

In the 48 years, it has been in existence, this is the first time, a rapper would be inducted into the Hall of Fame,

When asked why it took so long to recognize a rapper, producer Nile Rodgers said,

“Jay Z was in a space where, even though he’s had more pop albums than anyone else because he did it through rap, which isn’t considered part of the normal pop music scene.”

Also being inducted this year are hit maker Max Martin, Motown founder, Berry Gordy, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis of The Time, Robert Lamm, James Pankow and Peter Cetera of Chicago, and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.

The Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1969, by songwriter Johnny Mercer and publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond, in a bid to honor any artist whose work represents a spectrum of the most beloved songs from the world’s popular music songbook.

This has since then become a leading destination for music industry professionals and researchers, along with popular music fans.

Photo credit: Guardian UK