Rock and roll accepts hip hop into Hall of Fame
Rap crossed musical genres and broke cultural barriers on Monday when the first hip-hop artists were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, informs Reuters.
Pioneering hip-hop artists Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five were ushered into the prestigious group of artists, as well as rock groups Van Halen - without the attendance of several members - as well as R.E.M., punk rock poet Patti Smith and 1960s all-girl group The Ronettes.
On stage inside New York's Waldorf Astoria hotel, Grandmaster Flash, aka Joseph Saddler, performed the record-scratching technique he helped establish along with MC's Melle Mel, Rahiem, Scorpio and Kid Creole, mixing a string of their hits including 
sampling Chic's "Good Times" and Melle Mel's "White Lines."
Backstage, Grandmaster Flash, dressed in white sneakers and white peak cap, said he remembered a time when the "culture called hip hop was just a passing ship in the night," but "I called it a flash of brilliance, excuse the pun." He said being added into the Hall of Fame was a final respect.
R.E.M. was introduced by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who called their music "truly all-encompassing."
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