After weeks of open voting, the 2020 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee class was revealed this Wednesday morning (January 15). With some notable musical acts up for consideration — Depeche Mode, The Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails, and T-Rex — it is their sixth on the list, The Notorious B.I.G., that will likely make many Hip-Hop fans happy. The 35th annual class will cement Biggie Smalls’ impact, despite a short-but-amazing career, with an induction into immortality.

To be eligible for the Hall of Fame an individual artist or band must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. Last September marked the very moment when B.I.G.’s first album, Ready To Die, became eligible. That Bad Boy Records release boasted production from Easy Mo Bee, DJ Premier, Puff Daddy, Trackmasters, Chucky Thompson, Bluez Brothers, Lord Finesse, and others.

The inducted musicians were chosen from an October ballot of 16 finalists, which meant fans of Pat Benatar, Dave Matthews, Kraftwerk, MC5, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Todd Rundgren, Soundgarden, Thin Lizzy, and Judas Priest will have to wait at least another year for Rock Hall validation. Ballots were cast by an international voting body of more than 1,000 artists, including current living inductees, historians and members of the music industry. Factors such as an artist’s musical influence, body of work, innovation, style and technique are taken into consideration with the voting, according to the organization.

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