The Notorious B.I.G and Whitney Houston to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Notorious B.I.G. and Whitney Houston are among the 2020 inductees that includes T.Rex, Nine Inch Nails, Doobie Brothers, and Depeche Mode.

This marks the first time that either Whitney Houston nor Notorious B.I.G. have appeared on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot. In order for any artist to be eligible, they would have to have a first single or album that was released in 1994 or earlier.

Houston had 11 number one hits throughout her career including "I Will Always Love You" while B.I.G. had "Hypnotize" and "Mo Money Mo Problems". that were released in 1997. Biggie had released only two studio albums during his life on earth Ready to Die in 1994 and Life After Death in 1997. Both hit platinum certified with over 11 million copies sold in the U.S. It was Biggie, who brought hip-hop culture to the mainstream. Brooklyn would be proud.

Biggie is the second solo rapper that joins the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after Tupac Shakur, who was posthumously inducted in 2017.

Jon Landau will be taking the Ahmet Ertegun Award, a prize given to influential industry professionals such as songwriters, journalists, producers, and executives. Landau began in the late 1960's as a major rock journalist and wrote for major publications such as Crawdaddy and Rolling Stone.

The 35th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will be held at Cleveland's Public Auditorium on May 2nd. The awards will be broadcasted for the first time on HBO at 7 p.m. central time. The performances and special guests will be later announced.

Nominees Pat Benatar, Dave Matthews Band, Judas Priest, Kraftwerk, MC5, Motörhead, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Todd Rundgren, Soundgarden, and Thin Lizzy were on the ballot but didn't get enough votes.