By Ime Ekpo
When your hit song is still being praised after 20 years, it only proves the potency of your lyrical skill set.
Next year on June 14th, the 2018 Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala will take place in New York City where six songwriters or songwriting groups will be inducted for their great influence on music culture. The organization has revealed to the Associated Press vocal powerhouse Mariah Carey, legendary golden era hip-hop collective N.W.A., and many others as nominees for the 2018 Songwriters Hall of Fame.
This will be the first time Carey has been nominated for the prestigious award which will bestow her record as the single artist with the most number one hits on the Billboard 100 chart reigning at 18 songs, and she is responsible for co-writing 17 of them. Mariah hits in the likes of “We Belong Together,” “Hero,” and “One Sweet” showcase her clever pen skills which lead listeners to a blissful experience. Jermaine Dupri, who has co-written for the songbird has also been nominated as a non-performing songwriter.
As for the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. this will also be their first nod for the Songwriters Hall of Fame, which follows the calm of the collective’s 201.6 million box-office earning biopic, Straight Outta Compton (2015). In 1988, N.W.A. released their debut album Straight Outta Compton, which changed the majority of the world’s outlook on hip-hop culture. “Fuck tha Police” is the track that made the legacy of N.W.A. everlasting. The song sparked mass controversy due to its blatant objection against police brutality and racial profiling which effectively exasperated the FBI, and triggered the discussion of censorship in hip-hop music.
If rewarded, N.W.A. will score another win for hip-hop culture in the exalted hall after Jay-Z, who was inducted into the 2017 Songwriters Hall of Fame back in June.
Legendary musical class acts Kool and the Gang, the Isley Brothers, Tracy Chapman, Jimmy Cliff, John Mellencamp, Alan Jackson, Tom Waits, Chrissie Hynde, Alice Cooper and Tom T. Hall also stand as performing nominees.
