Backstage Pass

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, "The Message"

Hip-hop is finally in the house.

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five(Kid Creole, Cowboy, Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Mr. Ness, Raheim), best known for the groundbreaking rap "The Message," will become the first hip-hop act inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, organizers announced this morning.

Also set for induction at the Waldorf-Astoria in March: alt-rock pioneers R.E.M. (Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe) in its first year of eligibility; girl group The Ronettes (Estelle Bennett, Ronnie Spector, Nedra Talley); punk poet Patti Smith; and rockers Van Halen (Michael Anthony, Alex Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth and Roth's replacement Sammy Hagar).