Jay Z will be the first rapper in the Songwriters Hall of Fame

He'll be in very prestigious company.

Jay Z has been announced as one of the most recent inductees into the the Songwriters Hall and in doing so, he'll become the first rapper in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The iconic rapper released his debut album Reasonable Doubt in 1996, and he has since went on to achieve incredible acclaim, both commercially and critically. In a remarkable career, Jay Z (Shawn Carter) has sold more than 100 million records, received 21 Grammy Awards and been dubbed the "Greatest MC of all time" by MTV in 2006. Aside from his music, he has also established a reputation as an acute businessman and entrepreneur. In fact, Forbes recently estimated his net worth at nearly $520 million. Regarding his most recent accolade, songwriters are only eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame after writing songs for at least 20 years. To put this achievement into perspective, only five songwriters, or songwriting groups, are inducted each year. Yeah, Jay might might have 99 problems but critical acclaim ain't one. Big pimpin' congratulations are in order because he's clearly winning at this hard knock life.