Greg Harris, president and CEO of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, says Eminem’s catalog is “as hard-hitting and straight ahead as any metal song.”
The comments, as spotted by TMZ this weekend, arrived via a recent interview Harris gave to Taryn Daly for Audacy during which the 2022 class of inductees was discussed at length.
While there has been criticism spurred by Em’s Rock Hall entry focused on the fact that other eligible hip-hop artists (including a vast amount of pioneering Black artists) still haven’t received the same honor, there have also been complaints from some rock fans who—remain hellbent on subscribing to an exclusionary definition of “rock.”
Harris didn’t directly address this in his remarks, though he did speak generally on the thought process behind induction choices.
“It’s amazing. To think that we’re talking about Elizabeth Cotten in one sentence and Eminem in the next, that’s like a hundred years of music distilled between the two, and both terrific,” Harris said of Em’s induction on his first year of eligibility. “Eminem, you know, for a lot of years people asked about hip-hop. He’s the 10th artist to be sort of categorized that way. But you listen to his music, it’s as hard-hitting and straight ahead as any metal song. It’s right there. It really is. It’s a chest punch with a message and with a power and with a rhythm. … We’re thrilled he’s going in first year of eligibility, it’s a big statement.”
Harris also mentioned Em having helped celebrate the inductions of other artists in the past, including Run DMC and LL Cool J. Hear more here via Audacy. The Eminem-focused part of the interview comes in around the 10:48 mark.
This year’s ceremony is set to hit the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Nov. 5. That same month, the ceremony will also be broadcast via HBO and HBO Max. Other 2022 honorees across multiple categories include Harry Belafonte, Elizabeth Cotten, Duran Duran, Judas Priest, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, Dolly Parton, Eurythmics, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, and more.
