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Jay Z has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. What took so long? 

Today (Feb. 22), the Songwriters Hall of Fame announced its annual inductees, which include Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Robert Lamm, James Pankow and Peter Cetera of “Chicago,” Max Martin and the aforementioned Shawn “Jay Z” Carter. Motown Records founder Berry Gordy is also part of the 2017 class.

Hova has the added distinction of being the first rapper to receive the honor. Besides the 21 Grammys Awards and over 100 millions records sold, some of the songs cited as crucial to Jay Z’s honor include “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” “Izzo (H.O.V.A.), “Song Cry,” “Excuse Me Miss,” “Hovi Baby,” “Empire State of Mind” and “Holy Grail.”

“Since his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, was released over two decades ago, it’s been an incredible honor to work with the greatest MC of all time as he continues to achieve the unprecedented…,” said Warner/Chappell Chairman & CEO Jon Platt in a memo to his staff.  “This is an enormous accomplishment for Jay, as well as on behalf of fellow hip-hop songwriters everywhere, as he takes his place alongside past inductees and legends, ranging from Bob Dylan to Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye to Lennon & McCartney.”

The organization’s 48th Annual Induction and Awards Dinner goes down Thursday, June 15th at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

But we gotta ask—how come Nas, Q-Tip, Rakim, E-40, OutKast and a much longer list of accomplished MC’s down? Just saying.

The win moved Jigga to drop a rare tweet.

“By the way, this is a win for US. I remember when rap was said to be a fad . We are now alongside some of the greatest writers in history,” tweeted Hova.

Photo: WENN.com