NEW YORK – The late rapper Tupac Shakur and Seattle-based rockers Pearl Jam lead a class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees including folkie Joan Baez and 1970s favorites Journey, Yes and Electric Light Orchestra.
The rock hall, in downtown Cleveland, also said Tuesday it would give a special award to Nile Rodgers, whose disco-era band Chic failed again to make the cut after its 11th time nominated.
Baez will be inducted only months after her 1960s paramour, Bob Dylan, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The hall’s 32nd annual induction ceremony will take place on April 7 at the Barclays Center. HBO will show highlights later, with SiriusXM doing a radio broadcast.
Shakur was shot and killed after attending a boxing match in Las Vegas in 1996. His death has spawned conspiracy theories but remains unsolved. “Changes,” ”Keep Ya Head Up,” ”Ambitionz Az a Ridah” and “Life Goes On” are among his best-known songs. He was 25 when he died and left behind a trove of music that was released posthumously.