The Neptunes, production-songwriting duo of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, and Outkast are nominated for a Songwriters Hall of Fame, according to the Associated Press.
The Neptunes have delivered several Billboard hits such as Nelly’s “Hot In Herre,” Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl,” Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and Ludacris’ “Money Maker.” Chad and Skakeboard P has also top 10 songs like Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body,” Kelis’ “Milkshake,” Usher’s “U Don’t Have to Call,” Snoop Dogg’s “Beautiful,” N’Sync’s “Girlfriend,” Jay-Z’s “Excuse Me Miss” and “Change Clothes,” N.O.R.E.‘s “Nothin’” and Mase’s “Lookin’ at Me,” among many others.
The duo helped Britney Spears break out of her good-girl image in 2001 with the racy “I’m A Slave 4 U,” one of the singer’s traditional songs; the hitmakers produced more than half of Timberlake’s pivotal 2002 solo debut Justified, including the hits “Like I Love You” and “Senorita”; they helped Beyoncé enter the world as a solo singer in 2002 on her debut solo song, the funky “Work It Out”; and they assisted Jay-Z as he scored his first No. 1 hit as a lead artist on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart in 2000 with the anthem “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me).”
Outkast made their proper introduction to the world with their 1994 classic debut, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. Only to be followed by more classic such as ATLiens, Aquemini and Stankonia, among others.
Andre 3000 and Big Boi’s fifth release, 2003′s double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, propelled them to pop star icon status, thanks to the inescapable hit “Hey Ya!” The album, which blended sounds of jazz and rock with hip-hop, became the second rap-based album to win the Grammy for album of the year, following Lauryn Hill’s win for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill at the 1999 show.
Recently, artist JEKS painted a huge mural of Outkast in the Atlanta’s Little Five Points neighborhood. JEKS’ portrayal out the duo comes from a photo taken Jonathan Mannion.
A rap album hasn’t won the top Grammy prize since Outkast’s win, though hip-hop heavyweights like Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Kanye West, Drake and Lil Wayne have competed for the honor.
In 2017, rapper and business man Jay Z was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. That same year, Kennth “Babyface” Edmonds was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2019, Missy Elliott became the first woman rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.