OutKast and Salt-N-Pepa just joined music’s hallowed club. We list the current fifteen inductees — and predict the next fifteen who’ll likely have their own plaques in Cleveland.
(November 13, 2025). With OutKast and Salt-N-Pepa’s induction on November 8, 2025, hip-hop now boasts 15 names in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That’s less than three percent of the more than 550 honorees — but growing steadily. While hip-hop heads question whether a primarily rock-and-roll institution can be a good barometer for hip-hop excellence, rock purists challenge whether rap belongs in the RRHOF in the first place, both groups oddly agreeing if for different reasons.
But the fact remains that there are 15 enshrined hip-hop acts, and that number will only get bigger. So DJROBBLOG wondered: if the next 20 years mirror the last 20, who will round out hip-hop’s next 15 plaques? Below is our bold forecast.
Eligibility: 25 years after an artist’s first professional release. The Hall’s voters weigh influence, innovation, and impact as much as they do sales, concert tours or critical acclaim/awards. The category of “Performers” is the most coveted and contains most of the inductees, with subcategories like “Early or Musical Influence” and “Musical Excellence” reserved for those acts whose legacies fell short of the “Performers” criteria.
The current list of 15 now includes 14 traditional rap acts plus the non-rapping disc jockey DJ Kool Herc, whose pioneering work with two turntables is credited with starting hip-hop before it even had that name.
So here are the current hip-hop inductees in the order they were initiated (with year of induction and subcategory, if applicable, in parentheses)
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five (2007)
Run-DMC (2009)
Beastie Boys (2012)
Public Enemy (2013)
N.W.A. (2016)
Tupac Shakur (2017)
The Notorious B.I.G. (2020)
Jay-Z (2021)
LL Cool J (2021, Musical Excellence)
Eminem (2022)
Missy Elliott (2023)
DJ Kool Herc (2023, Musical Influence)
A Tribe Called Quest (2024)
OutKast (2025)
Salt-n-Pepa (2025, Musical Influence)
That means if the Rock Hall doubles down on rap over the next two decades, these are the 15 artists we predict will join the legends already immortalized in Cleveland, and why. (Remember, artists become eligible 25 years after their first commercial recording, so some of these acts will have to wait until then.)
Rakim (Early/Musical Influence)
• Best case path: Early Influence or Musical Influence (with Eric B.).
• Key works: Paid in Full (1987), Follow the Leader (1988).
• Why he matters: Universally cited as the MC who reset the technical bar for lyricism and internal rhyme schemes. His induction is long overdue.
• Nomination status: Eric B. & Rakim were on official ballots in 2012 and again in 2024.
• Outlook: Excellent—especially via “influence” category.
Kanye West/ Ye
• Eligibility: Debuted in 2004 (The College Dropout) → first eligible 2029 under the 25-year rule.
• Key works: The College Dropout, Late Registration, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Yeezus.
• Why he matters: Era-defining producer/artist whose innovations bled into pop, R&B, and electronic music.
• Outlook: Near-certain on first ballot in 2029 despite personal controversies; the Hall’s pacing and non-musical headwinds won’t derail Ye’s legacy
Lil Wayne
• Eligibility: Solo debut 1999 (Tha Block Is Hot) → eligible 2024 onward.
• Key works: Tha Carter series (esp. III), prolific mixtape canon.
• Why he matters: Blueprint for the 2000s mixtape-to-mainstream pipeline and a major influence on the 2010s with his unique delivery and impact on other rappers’ careers (Drake, Nicki Minaj)
• Outlook: Strong—fits the Hall’s “influence + longevity” sweet spot. Commercial success as NOLA’s premier rapper practically guarantees a spot.
Drake
• Eligibility: First commercial EP (So Far Gone, 2009) → eligible 2034. Mixtape arrived earlier in 2009.
• Key works: Take Care, Views, Scorpion; streaming dominance era.
• Why he matters: Rewrote chart/streaming norms and the rap-and-R&B blend lane. Canada’s all-time top rapper with 14 No. 1 albums stateside.
• Outlook: Very strong long-term candidate once he reaches eligibility.
Kendrick Lamar
• Eligibility: Section.80 (2011) → eligible 2036; good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012) → also supports that timeframe.
• Key works: good kid, m.A.A.d city, To Pimp a Butterfly, DAMN. (Pulitzer Prize, 2018).
• Why he matters: Canon-level artistry with a Pulitzer to boot. Record-setting tour and Super Bowl performance following classic beef with Drake plus Grammy darling status is untouched.
• Outlook: As close to “lock—eventually” as it gets; timing and eligibility will be the only delay.
Nas
• Eligibility: Illmatic (1994) → eligible 2019 (some trackers mark 2018 based on earlier recordings).
• Key works: Illmatic (canonical), It Was Written, late-career renaissance (King’s Diseaseseries).
• Why he matters: Gold-standard lyricist; East Coast boom-bap masterpiece status. Survived classic beef with Jay-Z.
• Outlook: Very strong; arguably overdue given stature.
Lauryn Hill (Musical Excellence)
• Eligibility: Solo debut (1998) → eligible 2023; already recognized elsewhere (Grammy Hall of Fame; Apple Music ranked Miseducation #1 all-time).
• Key works: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Album of the Year at the Grammys).
• Why she matters: Culturally seismic one-album legacy; rap/R&B fusion at a historic level. Eschewed the oft-tread hypersexual route of other female rappers. Other acts have arguably gotten in on singular works.
• Outlook: Excellent—Musical Excellence or Influence are plausible routes given one-album catalog plus her work with the Fugees.
Snoop Dogg
• Eligibility: Doggystyle (1993) → eligible 2018/2019 timeframe.
• Key works: Doggystyle, The Chronic features; cross-generational icon.
• Why he matters: One of hip-hop’s most recognizable ambassadors for three decades. G-funk rap pioneer with early Dr. Dre work (“Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang”) plus classic solo canon.
• Outlook: Strong; feels like a matter of “when” and whether he’s overdue at this stage.
Future
• Eligibility: Pluto (2012) → eligible 2037.
• Key works: Pluto, DS2, Hndrxx; trap’s melodic/post-Auto-Tune vanguard.
• Why he matters: Codified a dominant sonic palette of the 2010s. Still relevant in the 2020s. King of the strip clubs. Nine No. 1 albums including two in back-to-back weeks (March 2017) and three in one year (2024).
• Outlook: Real shot long-term, depending on how the Hall values trap’s legacy.
Nicki Minaj
• Eligibility: Pink Friday (2010) → eligible 2035.
• Key works: Pink Friday, The Pinkprint.
• Why she matters: Unmatched decade-plus mainstream footprint; stood alone for years and influenced an entire generation of femcees with pop-rap crossover style. More Hot 100 entries than any female aside from Taylor Swift.
• Outlook: Very likely—especially as the Hall broadens representation post-Missy.
Wu Tang Clan
• Eligibility: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993) → eligible 2018.
• Key works: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Wu-Tang Forever.
• Why they matter: Monolithic influence and brand, yet bizarrely not a past nominee; fans have noted the omission publicly. They arguably revitalized east coast hip-hop pre-Biggie. Individual members (Method Man, RZA, Ghostface Killah, GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, etc.) all recognizable.
• Outlook: Still strong despite overdue status
Master P
• Eligibility: Get Away Clean (1991) → eligible 2016.
• Key works: Ghetto D, MP Da Last Don, Only God Can Judge Me.
• Why he matters: Pioneer in southern rap, which is now its most lucrative region. Founded No Limit Records empire. Was first rapper inducted in Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
• Outlook: Strong; feels like a matter of “when.”
DMX
• Eligibility: It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998) → eligible 2023.
• Key works: It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, “Ruff Ryders Anthem,” Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, …And Then There Was X.
• Why he matters: Eligible since 2023; explosive late-’90s impact, shorter prime but huge cultural footprint with five No. 1 albums. Gruff, aggressive delivery and lyrics established the horrorcore rap subgenre.
• Outlook: Strong long-term; feels like he’ll be inducted many years post-eligibility.
Lil Kim
• Eligibility: Hard Core (1996) → eligible 2021.
• Key works: Hard Core, The Notorious K.I.M., La Bella Mafia, Junior M.A.F.I.A. singles (“Get Money”; “Playa’s Anthem”)
• Why she matters: First female MC to bring sexual liberation to mainstream; brought much-needed female perspective to male-dominated culture.
• Outlook: Long-shot; her career arc is longer than Hot 100 chart success suggests, but rumors of Biggie ghostwriting her may diminish chances.
Busta Rhymes
• Eligibility: The Coming (1996) → eligible 2021.
• Key works: The Coming, When Disaster Strikes…, Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front.
• Why he matters: Long career, instantly identifiable style and brand (Flipmode Squad); industry honors keep accruing (e.g., 2025 VMA Visionary Award), on all-time greatest rapper lists in Billboard, Forbes, and Vibe, which helps the narrative.
• Outlook: Strong; perhaps overdue given other accolades, including BET Lifetime Achievement in 2023.
The Hall of Fame was once cautious about rap; now it’s playing catch-up. As hip-hop moves through its sixth decade, many of those next fifteen names feel less like speculation and more like inevitability. Whether by influence, innovation, or pure staying power, DJROBBLOG predicts those are the voices that will keep echoing through Cleveland’s hallowed corridors — further proof that, despite its recent woes on the Billboard charts, hip-hop will always be a part of American culture and have a permanent place in music’s most prestigious institution.
DJRob
DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on Bluesky at @djrobblog.bsky.social, X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog, on Facebook or on Meta’s Threads.
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