Missy Elliott, The Spinners, A Tribe Called Quest among nominees for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

This year marks Elliott's first time on the finalist list.

Feb 1, 2023

Missy Elliott, The Spinners and A Tribe Called Quest are among the 14 nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

The list of nominees was released on Wednesday. The other nominees are Rage Against the Machine, Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Iron Maiden, Joy Division-New Order, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Soundgarden, The White Stripes and Warren Zevon.

This marks Elliott’s first time appearing on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s ballot, according to Variety. She is among the most innovative and successful hip-hop artists in history. Elliott is the first — and only — female rap artist to have six platinum-certified albums. Not only has she made hits for herself, she’s written and produced hits for other artists, including Aaliyah, 702, Jazmine Sullivan and Keyshia Cole.

A Tribe Called Quest In Concert - New York, NY — Q-Tip and Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest perform on Nov. 20, 2013 at the Barclays Center in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)

The Spinners were one of the most popular R&B groups of the 1970s. After hitting with “It’s a Shame,” the Detroit quintet left Motown Records for Atlantic Records and began a fruitful collaboration with recently departed producer, Thom Bell. The Spinners released 19 Top 10 hits on the Billboard R&B charts, including “I’ll Be Around,” “Mighty Love,” “Sadie” and “The Rubberband Man.”

A Tribe Called Quest makes the finalist list for the second time. The Queens hip-hop outfit was nominated in 2022, along with eventual inductees Enimem, Lionel Richie, plus Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. As members of the Native Tongues hip-hop collective, A Tribe Called Quest released three platinum albums and three gold, which included classic singles like “Can I Kick It?,” “Check the Rhime,” “Award Tour” and “Find a Way.”

Rage Against the Machine makes the ballot for the fifth time. Frontman Zack de la Rocha’s rock band was previously nominated in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. Rage’s best known records came in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including titles like “Bulls on Parade” and “Testify.”

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Fans can vote daily for up to five nominees until April 28 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website. Fan votes will be combined with the ballots of other voters to determine the 2023 inductees.

Artists become eligible for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after their first recorded release.

TheGrio music writer Matthew Allen contributed to this article.

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