The first Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony was held on January 23rd, 1986 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City; and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Roberta Flack was on-hand to induct rock & roll legend Little Richard. Flack was excited for the occasion, and she'd just been introduced by former Atlantic Records president and industry icon Ahmet Ertegun.

"Thank you very much, Ahmet, for letting me be a part of this wondrous, splendiferous moment," Flack began, before acknowledging some of her famous friends in the audience like Yoko Ono and Paul Shaffer. And then she made a point to acknowledge an uncomfortable truth. "All of my heroes are being honored tonight," she said. "With the exception of some people whose names I'd also like to call: Tina Turner. Big Maybelle. Lavern Baker. Janis Joplin.

"Maybe next year will be the year for women..."

That initial Rock Hall Of Fame inductee class included Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown, Sam Cooke, The Everly Brothers and the aforementioned Little Richard. A veritable who's-who of 50s rock & roll and R&B, but it featured not one female inductee—something that Flack was righteous to call out. It's been 36 years since that inaugural class of Hall of Famers; and the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has just announced its 2022 nominees for induction. The list includes a pair of Hip-Hop notables in the eclectic A Tribe Called Quest and fiery Eminem; alongside a wide-range of popular music icons, including new wave pioneers DEVO, soul-pop crooner Lionel Richie, and country legend Dolly Parton. It's another noteworthy year for female nominees, as rocker Pat Benatar, alternative pixie Kate Bush, singer-songwriter Carly Simon, 60s pop icon Dionne Warwick and the Annie Lennox-fronted Eurythmics are all among the Hall's nominations. But despite Hip-Hop and female representation; female rappers are still absent.

Hip-Hop artists have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2007, when Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five became the first rappers to be inducted. And after Roberta Flack's stand for women, Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock Hall in 1987. But artists like MC Lyte, Roxanne Shante and Queen Latifah haven't been nominated, despite eligibility. Arriving in 1984, Shante set the standard for female emcees to be taken seriously in a male-dominated genre; MC Lyte took up that mantle a few years later, becoming the first solo female rapper to drop an album in 1988. Latifah became arguably rap's most famous female artist in the early 1990s; eventually becoming one of the genre's biggest crossover stars. It should be noted that Lil Kim and Foxy Brown are eligible for the Hall since last year; with Kim being widely regarded as a trailblazer for female sexuality with her 1996 debut album. And making her own first appearances that same year before kickstarting a visionary career in 1997, Missy Elliott is also now eligible for the Hall starting this year.

It's past time to induct some female rappers. That should be indisputable. After 15 years, it's long overdue for there to be more of a female rap presence there. But, with all due respect to the women who have broken ground in rap music—and with reverence to all of the previously-named icons—the first female Hip-Hop inductees should be Salt-N-Pepa.

Salt-N-Pepa set a standard for the commercial viability of women in Hip-Hop. After Run-D.M.C. and the mid-80s Def Jam revolution cemented rap's sustainability as a genre; Salt-N-Pepa was the first female act to really epitomize Hip-Hop's newfound visibility. The group's debut album Hot, Cool & Vicious was a platinum-seller, and "Push It" became one of the most played videos of the era.

Whatever myths persisted about female rappers not being able to move units, they shattered them from Day One. And their success emboldened a generation. It was early Salt-N-Pepa records that inspired a teenaged Lana Moorer to begin rapping as MC Lyte; and it was the success of Hot, Cool & Vicious that launched the late 80s rap girl group craze which included acts like J.J. Fad, Finesse & Synquis and Oaktown's 3.5.7.

At a time when rap music was still taboo in many pop and R&B radio rotations, Salt-N-Pepa played a major role in getting Hip-Hop to the mainstream. Even with a semi-backlash against them around the time of their sophomore album A Salt With A Deadly Pepa.

“One DJ in New York dissed us,” Pepa told RTB in 2020. “They were always playing all the dudes. I used to be like, ‘We’re selling more, we’re killing it, why aren’t we getting the same respect?’ The same DJ came up to me [recently] and said, ‘I just want to say I apologize. I rode with the guys. I shitted on y’all,’ basically.”

Nonethless, in the 1990s, the group scaled higher heights. 1990s Blacks' Magic remains Salt-N-Pepa's finest release, an album that captures the group maturing beyond it's early party record-image and embracing feminism and Afrocentricity; as well as the group beginning to flex it's own creative muscle after two albums underneath the production thumb of Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor. And 1993s Very Necessary became a blockbuster success: going 5X platinum en route to becoming the best-selling rap album ever by a female act.

Salt-N-Pepa has the commercial clout, the cultural significance and the musical legacy for Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction. And, let's be honest, so do a lot of Hip-Hop artists. The Rock Hall will never be sufficient space for Hip-Hop's heritage and tradition; but if we're going to treat it like a museum of modern music, then so be it. They can still get some things right. And Salt-N-Pepa has been waiting long enough. The group has been eligible since 2011. We've seen Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy, The Beastie Boys, N.W.A., 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z and LL COOL J get the nod. It's time for S-N-P to get theirs.

Alongside the artists that shaped the music; there are also figures like Sylvia Robinson, founder of Sugar Hill Records, who have yet to be honored in the non-performer category. Black women have had to fight for a lot of recognition in genres they've helped invent. Sister Rosetta Tharpe pioneered rock guitar, but wasn't inducted into the Rock Hall until 2018. Janet Jackson is one of the biggest pop icons of all time and was only inducted in 2019. Trailblazers like Grace Jones, LaBelle and, ironically, Roberta Flack still wait in the wings. Women in Hip-Hop have all been collectively ignored by the hall thus far. It looks like 2022 won't be any different. Congratulations to the Hip-Hop luminaries that have been inducted and to this year's nominees. But...

Maybe next year will be the year for women?