Notorious

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees for 2020 have been named, and sure enough, there are at least two dubious choices - but as the two artists who exude such dubiousness are black, anyone who has a problem with their inductions either have to hold their tongues or speak out while risking charges of bigotry against them.

The nominees in question are rapper Christopher Wallace, alternatively known as the Notorious B.I.G. or as Biggie Smalls, and pop singer Whitney Houston.  Even though neither of these performers ever encouraged anyone to pick up a guitar or crank the amps up to eleven, apologists for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are already making the arguments in favor of these inductions.  The argument for Wallace is the same for every rapper - rap embraces the same outlaw spirit that once influenced rock and roll but no longer does - and the argument for Houston is that she inspired so many black women in popular music who came after her and besides, it's time to give due to women of color who began their recording careers after 1970 or so.

I'm sorry, I have to disagree. Rap, or hip-hop, or whatever the hell it's called these days, has its own Hall of Fame, and Wallace doesn't belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame any more than Jimi Hendrix belongs in the one for rap.  Whitney Houston may have inspired many black women and even some white women to become singers, but few of them can be plausibly called "rock" singers.  If you want to add more black women to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame roster, there are women like Tina Turner (who, shockingly, has never been inducted as a solo act) or Nona Hendryx, who made a solo album after Labelle broke up that was full of heavy playing that could have fit nicely onto an AOR playlist.  Or Chaka Khan, who rocked with Rufus and sang "I'm Every Woman" before Houston did.  These two nominations were made strictly to check boxes out of political correctness to promote "diversity." 

Look, I have no problem with Whitney Houston as a singer.  I even featured her on my beautiful-women picture blog.  I thought she was a fine performer.  I thought she was good at what she did.  But what she did was sing MOR ballads and light disco tunes.  And the truth is, her music inspired as many critics as fans - even among those who acknowledged her talent.  Joan Baez once said in a Rolling Stone interview that Houston had "the most incredible gymnastic setup in her voice" but lamented that ninety percent of her material was "just plain boring," because she flaunted her voice without having much to say.  And, of course, I do have a problem with Wallace, big-time, and I won't say anymore about that than I already have. 

As you may have already noticed, Wallace and Houston have one other thing in common - they're both deceased, and they both died under tragic circumstances.  They've since been martyred.  So fans of hip-hop or dance pop are going to have a problem with anyone who has a problem with these inductions.  Criticizing these inductions won't make those of us who object just look bigoted - it's going to make us look churlish.  That's the chance we have to take.  Because last time I checked, it's called the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and not the Popular Music Hall of Fame, and rock fans shouldn't let liberal guilt get in the way of setting parameters that allows just anyone to be inducted.  That means acknowledging that some white men shouldn't have been inducted, like James Taylor, who is a major talent but is not rock.  The inductions of some white male pop-rockers who lean more toward pop than rock, like Billy Joel, may have to be reassessed.   But for Pete's sake, let's make it clear that there have to be parameters before Kanye West ("Rap is the new rock and roll") becomes eligible for induction in 2029 - or before Ed Sheeran gets inducted in 2039!

And I think I've made myself clear about those losers Maroon 5.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony - which will also see the induction of the Doobie Brothers and T. Rex, two acts whose inductions are long overdue - takes place on May 2.  I'll have more to say on this subject at that time.