Tupac Shakur became the first hip-hop solo performer inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, entering in 2017.
The Hall inducted Tupac during its 32nd annual ceremony in Brooklyn, New York. His selection recognized both his recordings and his lasting influence on hip-hop culture, particularly through albums such as Me Against the World and All Eyez on Me.
Tupac had previously been inducted as part of no group; this distinction specifically concerns a solo hip-hop performer. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were inducted earlier, in 2007, but that was a group honor. Tupac died in 1996, aged 25, yet his posthumous reputation continued to grow through reissues, documentaries, and academic study.
The Rock Hall is not limited to rock musicians. Its eligibility and selections have increasingly recognized rhythm and blues, rap, pop, and other influential forms of popular music.