OutKast Inducted Into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

4 hours ago 5

The 2025 inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have been announced, and southern rap godfathers OutKast, as well as the empowering trio of Salt-N-Pepa, are among this year’s crop of honorees.The announcement came Sunday (April 27) night, delivered by Ryan Seacrest on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame episode of American Idol. The episode featured the top 14 finalists performing songs from legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees.

Early ‘60s rock and roller Chubby Checker, British classic rockers Bad Company, ‘80s pop queen Cyndi Lauper, grunge icons Soundgarden, garage rock revivalists the White Stripes and famed blues-rock vocalist Joe Cocker are also nominated in the Performer category. Singer-songwriter Warren Zevon joins Salt-N-Pepa as this year’s Musical Influence Award winners.

“Each of these inductees created their own sound and attitude that had a profound impact on culture and helped to change the course of rock and roll forever,” said John Sykes, Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in a statement. “Their music gave a voice to generations and influenced countless artists that followed in their footsteps.”

In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Salt-N-Pepa was the first female hip-hop act to achieve gold and platinum commercial success; and in 1995, they were also the first female hip-hop act to win a Grammy for their empowerment anthem “None of Your Business.” OutKast helped solidify the commercial viability of southern rap acts and famously took home the Album Of The Year Grammy in 2004 for their acclaimed double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.

The jam band Phish did not make the final cut for induction, despite winning the fan vote. According to Variety, the band scored a first-place finish with 330,000 votes registered by fans. The fan vote is only equal to one ballot, in total — and counts no more or less than the 1,200 votes cast by industry insiders who participate in the election by invitation.

Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after their first commercial recordings were released. The induction ceremony will take place November 8 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.