Fela Anikulapo-Kuti has missed out on the bid to become an inductee of the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where Tina Turner, Carole King, and Jay-Z made it.
Jay-Z, the Foo Fighters, The Go-Go’s, Carole King, Todd Rundgren, and Tina Turner are the newest inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the organization announced Wednesday morning.
The hall said it’s 2021 class includes the “most diverse list of inductees in the history of the organization.” Three are two-time inductees.
Foo Fighters, The Go-Go’s, and Jay-Z were on the ballot for the first time this year.
Speaking of the new inductees, John Skyes, the Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said: “This diverse class of talented Inductees reflects the Rock Hall’s ongoing commitment to honor artists whose music created the sound of youth culture. It will make for an unforgettable live celebration of music in October at this year’s Induction Ceremony in Cleveland.”
To be eligible for induction, artists have to have released their first record 25 years earlier and “have created music whose originality, impact and influence have changed the course of rock & roll,” according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Foo Fighters, The Go-Go’s, and Jay-Z were on the ballot for the first time this year.
Musicians and groups who were nominated but not inducted were Mary J. Blige, Kate Bush, Devo, Iron Maiden, Chaka Khan, Fela Kuti, LL Cool J, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine, and Dionne Warwick.
Fela Kuti was first announced as a nominee for the award in February. Soon after the announcement, there was a huge push on social media to vote for the Nigerian music legend whose music much of the populace especially fans say is still relevant to date because of the social issues it addressed.
Massive support from celebrities like Davido, Burna Boy, Banky W, Don Jazzy, and other prominent voices gave the legend an early boost but the Turner fans gave it more from the results that were published by the hall.
If Fela had won, the multi-instrumentalist and Afrobeat legend would have made history as the first Nigerian artist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
