Public Enemy is among a list of other icons who will be honored by the Record Academy in receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. The organization’s website announced the news on Thursday (Dec. 19), revealing that the group, alongside Roberta Flack, Isaac Hayes, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and a host of others, are on named recipients of the 2020 Special Merit Awards, who will receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
According to the Record Academy, the Lifetime Achievement Award acknowledges artists “who have made outstanding contributions of artistic significance to the field of recording.”
“Our industry is one that prides itself on influence and paying it forward, and each year the Recording Academy has the privilege of honoring a select group of visionaries whose creative contributions have rippled throughout our culture,” said Deborah Dugan, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. “Our Special Merit Awards recipients have molded their musical passion into pieces of history that will continue to influence and inspire generations of music creators and music lovers to come.”
The honorees will receive their awards during a special presentation ceremony and concert, which will be held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on April 18, 2020. Additional details on the ceremony have not yet been released.
According to Variety, the honorees are determined by the Recording Academy’s National Board of Trustees.
Public Enemy is comprised of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff, and DJ Lord. The group, which formed in Long Island back in 1982, has released 13 LPs, including their album, It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. Last year, their hit record, “Fight The Power,” was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame.
Public Enemy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013, making them the fourth hip hop act to receive the honor.