(AllHipHop News) Will a couple more Hip Hop acts enter the Songwriters Hall Of Fame next year? Atlanta rap duo OutKast and Virginia Beach production team The Neptunes are listed as nominees for the 2020 class.
OutKast is made up of André “André 3000” Benjamin and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton. The Dungeon Family members have won 6 Grammys, including Album Of The Year for the Diamond-certified Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. The group also created the No. 1 singles “Ms. Jackson,” “Hey Ya!,” and “The Way You Move.”
Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes are among the board masters who helped shape the sound of modern music. Their production discography is bolstered by tunes recorded by Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Britney Spears, Usher, Busta Rhymes, Kelis, Clipse, Lil Kim, T.I., Gwen Stefani, Ludacris, TLC, and many more. They also released music as N.E.R.D. with Shay Haley.
If either OutKast or The Neptunes are voted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, the respective artistic unit will join Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter (2017), Jermaine Dupri (2018), Missy Elliott (2019), and Dallas Austin (2019) as the only Hip Hop-associated inductees. Additionally, Pop/R&B icon Mariah Carey earned another SHOF nomination.
Gloria Estefan, David Gates, Vince Gill, The Isley Brothers, Journey, Annie Lennox & David Stewart, Mike Love, Steve Miller, R.E.M., and Patti Smith are also 2020 performing nominees. The non-performing hopefuls are Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty, Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart, L. Russell Brown & Irwin Levine, Sonny Curtis, Kye Fleming & Dennis Morgan, Jerry Fuller, Tony Macaulay, Bob McDill, Roger Nichols, Rick Nowels, and William “Mickey” Stevenson.
The Songwriters Hall of Fame’s 51st Annual Induction & Awards Gala is scheduled for June 11, 2020, in New York City. Eligible voting members have until midnight on December 16, 2019 to submit ballots.
