The Brief

Mark Ridley-Thomas, whose long political career involved representing South Los Angeles on the City Council, the County Board of Supervisors and in the State Legislature, was sentenced Monday to 42 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a $30,000 fine for his conviction on corruption charges.

While acknowledging that Ridley-Thomas has done "an enormous amount of good" for the community over three decades of public service, U.S. District Court Judge Dale Fischer said in handing down the sentence that Ridley-Thomas has shown "no remorse" and that “the entire community has been victimized.”

Fischer added that deterrence of public corruption “is an extremely important factor in this case.”

MRT's statement to the court

In a statement to the court, Ridley-Thomas said his actions — "and the fallout from those actions — have hurt my family, beginning with my wife of 44 years who should never have had to go through an ordeal like this. I apologize to her with every breath and with my whole heart. And I apologize to my sons, my daughter-in-law and grandchildren, as well as other family members whose lives have been disrupted and traumatically impacted."

Ridley-Thomas, 68, has appealed his conviction. In his statement, he said he believed it was "fair to say that this case exists somewhere between what is clearly legal conduct on one end, and clearly illegal conduct on the other. In between there is a line that distinguishes actions that are illegal — and actions that may be ill-advised, but NOT illegal."

Reactions to the sentence

On Monday, the courtroom and an overflow room at the Downtown LA federal courthouse were packed with supporters of Ridley-Thomas.

“This is a very sad day for so many of us,” said Rev. Norman Johnson Sr. of First New Christian Church, who also heads the Ridley-Thomas support group called South LA Clergy for Public Accountability. He noted sentencing came on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s March on Washington.

“Mark Ridley-Thomas represents the best of that March in terms of freedom, transformative politics and the affirmation of the value and worth of every human being," he said.

Cornel West, the civil rights and political activist who has launched a third-party candidacy for president, attended a rally in support of Ridley-Thomas prior to sentencing.

“Mark Ridley-Thomas is one of the greatest public servants in the history of this state," he said. “His integrity cannot be called into question by legal proceedings.”

U.S. Attorney Martín Estrada praised the prison sentence, even though it was below the six years in prison his prosecutors had recommended. "It shows that regardless of what type of power one has, there will be consequences when you engage in corruption," Estrada said.

U.S. Attorney Martîn Estrada addresses the media after Mark Ridley-Thomas was sentenced on federal corruption charges on Aug. 28, 2023

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What's next

Judge Fischer ordered Ridley-Thomas to surrender by Nov. 13. It was unclear whether Ridley-Thomas will be allowed to stay out of prison while he appeals his case.

Speaking on behalf of his family, Ridley-Thomas' son Sinclair said, “We are deeply disappointed.” Ridley-Thomas's attorney, Galia Amram, added, “This whole case has been devastating for the supervisor.”

How we got here

In March, a jury found the former county supervisor guilty of conspiring to support a county contract for USC in exchange for one of the school’s deans providing his son a full scholarship and faculty job. The dean also helped funnel money from a Ridley-Thomas political fund to one operated by his son through the university.

In some quarters, there were harsh words for Ridley-Thomas in the wake of his conviction.

Ridley-Thomas “defrauded the people of the county,“ Estrada said after the jury handed down the verdicts in March. “Any time a politician engages in corruption and breaches his duty of trust to the public, it is a great crime that must be brought to justice.”

Hans Johnson, president of the East Area Progressive Democratic Club, wrote in the L.A. Daily News:

Johnson also likes to point out that Ridley-Thomas wasn’t always progressive — he voted to keep a Christian cross on the official L.A. County seal, albeit for historical reasons.

Looking back on MRT's career

The TV camera pans the crowd of protesters outside Parker Center, the old LAPD headquarters on Los Angeles Street. It is 1991, three days after the beating of Rodney King.

Mark Ridley-Thomas is among them.

“His time has ended,” he declares of the LAPD’s notorious leader at the time, Chief Daryl Gates. Hours earlier, Ridley-Thomas was part of a delegation that met with Gates during a “candid exchange” with “sharp disagreement.”

“We wanted to look him in the eye and make it clear that he knew where we stood.”

For more than four decades, Ridley-Thomas was in the middle of some of the biggest political battles in L.A. He didn’t limit himself to local issues.

Audio from the Pacifica Radio Archives features Ridley-Thomas at a 1980s-era protest outside a Century City fundraiser for President Ronald Reagan. He rails against Reagan’s support of the apartheid regime in South Africa and against the U.S.-backed Salvadoran government’s human rights abuses.

“We have to say no to apartheid as well as say no to intervention in Central America,” he shouts into a bullhorn.

Legacy of progressive activism

Many say Ridley-Thomas has been one of the city’s most progressive leaders, and that his conviction shouldn’t mean forgetting all he did.

Mayor Karen Bass knew Ridley-Thomas back in the 1980’s, when he was executive director of the local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference — the organization Martin Luther King, Jr. started in 1957.

“For decades, Mark Ridley-Thomas has been a champion for our city, a civil rights activist, a thought leader, and a policy maker who made a real impact on this city,” Bass said after Ridley-Thomas' conviction.

Los Angeles County Board Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas answers the media's questions in USC's Associates Park on Jan. 19, 2013.

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On the website of Community Coalition, the organization Bass helped found in 1991, Ridley-Thomas is quoted recalling discussions with her and others about alternative ways to approach the crack epidemic ravaging South L.A. at the time.

“It began in the late ‘80s as a conversation about how we could more intelligently, humanely and effectively respond to this crisis,” he said.

In his early work, Ridley-Thomas played an instrumental role in building relationships in South L.A. as it turned from predominantly African American to Latino, said former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who worked with him on the issue during that time.

“He thought early on that it was important that we come together and focus on our commonalities while also discussing differences,” said Villaraigosa, who co-chaired the Latino-Black Roundtable with Ridley-Thomas. He said at one point the two appeared together on the cover of LA Weekly with the headline, “The New Progressives.”

MRT's City Council career

Ridley-Thomas was elected to the City Council representing South L.A.’s eighth district. He served from 1991 to 2003.

In one of his first major acts, Ridley-Thomas established what he called an Empowerment Congress to encourage community participation in governance and connect people to city services. The group has endured. Its annual meetings attract more than 1,000 people. It helped inspire the city’s neighborhood council system.

Portrait of Councilman Mark Ridley Thomas, taken at an NFL News Conference held at Macy's Plaza, downtown Los Angeles on Aug. 9, 1999.

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Jaime Regalado, the former head of the Pat Brown Institute at Cal State L.A., recalls how Ridley-Thomas supported a controversial gang intervention training program that used former gang members to help young people.

“There’s a whole history of things that he supported that very few politicians would touch,” said Regalado.

Ridley-Thomas was ahead of his time when it came to funding programs to combat sexual and domestic violence, according to Patti Giggans, executive director of the nonprofit Peace Over Violence.

“Mark was very committed to the issue of preventing violence against women and girls way before #MeToo,” she said. “He was one of the few men who stood up for survivors at the time.”

'Consummate tactician and strategist'

Ridley-Thomas played a crucial role in the building of Staples Center, now called Crypto.com Arena, said John Semcken of Majestic Realty. At Majestic, Semcken was responsible for the development of the arena in the late 1990s.

Ridley-Thomas helped win the support of reluctant fellow council members, including Joel Wachs, who made a name for himself by making ever-increasing demands of the developers, according to Semcken. “Mark sat me down and said, ‘You need to give him a win because he can’t back out,’” he recalled.

They cut a deal.

“Staples Center never would have been built if it weren’t for Mark Ridley-Thomas,” he said.

Semcken called Ridley-Thomas “the most effective politician I have ever met in my life, and I have met a lot of them.”

“He’s the consummate tactician and strategist,” said Villaraigosa.

A pivotal seat: the L.A. County Board of Supervisors

Ridley-Thomas spent four years in the state legislature before returning to L.A. to run for a seat on the county Board of Supervisors in 2008. He served the maximum of 12 years.

On the board, Ridley-Thomas fought to reform the Department of Children and Family Services, authored the county’s minimum wage ordinance, and for years was the lone voice in favor of the creation of a civilian board to watchdog the Sheriff’s Department.

Mark Ridley-Thomas Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors attends the BAFTA LA opening of the Helen Keller Park Screening Room at Helen Keller Park on Dec. 10, 2014 in Los Angeles.

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“He was our only champion,” said Mark-Antony Clayton-Johnson of Dignity and Power Now, a nonprofit that advocates for changes at the department and in the jails. “He was the only one that was willing to push for independent civilian oversight.”

Ridley-Thomas patiently waited for the election of two new members of the five-member board who would support the proposal — then successfully pushed it through.

But perhaps Ridley-Thomas’ crowning achievement as a supervisor was the 2015 reopening of a vastly improved Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in South L.A. It had been closed for nearly a decade after the federal government pulled funding over a series of problems, including controversial patient deaths that earned it the nickname “killer King.”

“He made it clear that he was simply not going to rest until that institution was resurrected,” said Robert Ross, CEO of The California Endowment.

It wasn’t easy. Ridley-Thomas had to maneuver over myriad bureaucratic and political hurdles. He also wanted a project labor agreement that would give job preferences to people who lived nearby and from low-income zip codes. But he couldn’t get anyone on the board to second his motion, according to his longtime chief of staff, Vincent Harris.

Ridley-Thomas convinced the board’s arch-conservative Mike Antonovich to second the motion — just to initiate a debate.

“He did not let ideological differences get in the way,” Harris said. “It illustrated his ability to reach across the lines.”

Ridley-Thomas ended up winning two more votes for an agreement that provided jobs to people who may otherwise never have worked on the project — even though Antonovich voted no.

“He’ll be remembered as one of the stalwarts of not only the African American community but of progressive communities around L.A.,” Regalado said.

Regal — or roughshod?

Over 31 years in public office, Ridley-Thomas almost always wore a tie, was deliberate in his speech, and tended to lecture when he spoke. He could be in love with his own words — more than most politicians. He could be hard to work for, say former staff.

What was to some Ridley-Thomas’ regal and thoughtful stature was to others pompous and arrogant.

“What is viewed as confidence and boldness in a white male is often viewed as arrogance in an African American,” said Ross, who is Black. He noted Ridley-Thomas “didn’t suffer fools gladly.”

An anti-boycott protester (L) confronts Los Angeles County supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas (R) after they voted 3-2 for Los Angeles County to join a boycott of the state of Arizona, in Los Angeles on June 1, 2010.

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Ross declined to comment on the guilty verdicts handed down to Ridley-Thomas, but lamented his loss from the political scene. After his conviction, Ridley-Thomas was required to relinquish the city council seat he won in 2020.

“The injustice to me is Mark Ridley-Thomas being removed from the playing field of civic leadership and civic engagement,” Ross said.

Rabbi Steven Jacobs worked with Ridley-Thomas on numerous issues over the decades.

“Mark has made L.A. a greater city,” he said.

Jacobs said Ridley-Thomas must now figure out a way to contribute in a new capacity, recalling how the legendary violinist Itzhak Pearlman once played on during a concert despite losing one of his strings.

“It's his duty to continue to make music with what remains,” he said.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

The leadership of the Los Angeles Police Commission experienced a significant shakeup Tuesday during a regularly scheduled meeting, when it was announced that Teresa Sánchez-Gordon had stepped down as president of the police oversight body.

Rasha Gerges Shields was appointed the commission’s new president, and Daniel Tabor was appointed vice president soon after the announcement. Sánchez-Gordon was not present at the meeting.

Shields announced that Sánchez-Gordon would be stepping down and added that she would be playing some continued role on the commission, but did not provide further details before the group went into closed session. A spokesperson for the commission said that Sánchez-Gordon would continue to serve as a commissioner.

“Thank you and I look forward to serving all of you in the community in this role,” Shields said after being appointed president.

The announcement came as a surprise to those present at the meeting. There was no indication on the commission’s agenda or other public forum that the president would be stepping down. The commission’s website was updated with the new titles shortly after the votes.

Sánchez-Gordon had been serving on the commission since 2024, and was appointed president in late 2025. She has shared her experience as an immigrant who settled in East L.A. as a child and has expressed concern about widespread federal immigration enforcement in the city, according to reporting by the Los Angeles Times.

Erroll Southers preceded Sánchez-Gordon as president of the commission before stepping down last October.

Shields was appointed to the commission in 2023. She has worked both as a federal prosecutor and as a lawyer in private practice.

Tabor was appointed to the commission in January and formerly served as the mayor of the City of Inglewood.

The Los Angeles Police Commission did not immediately respond to request for comment. This story will be updated if it does.

LA Documenter Martin Romero contributed reporting for this piece from the LAPD Board of Police Commission meeting. LA Documenters trains and pays LA residents to take notes at local government meetings around Los Angeles. You can find meeting notes and audio at losangeles.documenters.org

As Californians rush to file their taxes before the April 15 deadline, the candidates vying to be California’s next governor have laid out competing visions for the future of taxation in the nation’s largest state.

Leading candidates have proposed eliminating income taxes, cutting taxes for businesses, increasing taxes on corporations and raising taxes on commercial properties.

Not on that list: taxing billionaires.

None of the candidates polling in double digits has embraced the tax proposal, sending shockwaves through California politics: a one-time tax on the wealth of billionaires that a health care union is trying to qualify for the November ballot. But while Gov. Gavin Newsom has spent his final year in office arguing that the state has a spending problem, not a revenue problem, the Democrats most likely to succeed him are eyeing ways to bring new money into the state’s coffers.

Democrats Katie Porter and Tom Steyer have proposed new taxes on large corporations — albeit in different forms — to offset federal health care cuts, boost education funding and help fill structural budget deficits projected to reach $35 billion in the coming years. Porter has also aligned with Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco in promising to cut taxes for working families and businesses, though the Republicans’ plans would go much further.

None of the leading candidates has indicated which state programs they would cut to make up for lost tax revenue. But in a year when affordability is the dominant voter concern, taxes are top of mind.

“If you’re gonna talk about affordability — and affordability is the main kind of buzzword of the campaign — well, you gotta start with taxes,” said Tim Anaya of the Sacramento-based Pacific Research Institute, a libertarian, free-market think tank.

A tax code ‘frozen in amber’

California’s tax code has been largely frozen in amber for the past century. When voters limited property tax increases through Proposition 13 in 1978, they made the state more dependent on a progressive income tax that relies disproportionately on the high incomes and capital gains of a relatively small number of residents. As a result, California tax revenues fluctuate wildly based on how tech and other large companies perform in the stock market.

Over the past 40 years, efforts to change California’s tax law have largely nibbled around the edges. No one has proposed a wholesale reform of the system, Anaya said.

The governor’s race is playing out against the backdrop of negotiations to shave billions of dollars off state spending next year to close the state’s growing structural deficit. In budget hearings this spring, finance officials in Newsom’s administration have made clear that the governor is not interested in pursuing any new taxes.

Like his predecessor, Jerry Brown, Newsom has bemoaned the annual swings between surpluses and deficits driven by gyrations in personal income tax and capital gains revenue. But he has done little to either broaden the tax base or bring in new forms of revenue, said Chris Hoene, executive director of the left-leaning California Budget & Policy Center.

“He has not done very much on the tax front,” Hoene said. “He’s been more inclined to actually give away new or expanded tax credits — like he became a big proponent of expanding the film tax credit.”

The top Democratic candidates for governor — Porter and Steyer — are vowing to boost state revenues, primarily by honing in on big business.

Hoene said it’s no surprise that their proposals lean into familiar ideas such as raising taxes on corporate profits or property, rather than the relatively novel approach of taxing overall wealth.

“Some of these newer ideas, like taxing wealth … those are things that need to be cooked a bit longer,” Hoene said. “If I were a gubernatorial candidate, I’d be saying, ‘hey, there’s some low-hanging fruit we should be going after first.’”

There’s also some unlikely overlap. Porter and Hilton both propose eliminating state income tax on earnings less than $100,000, a change that would affect more than 70% of California residents who file tax returns. (Porter’s proposal focuses on families, while Hilton said he would extend the exemption to all filers.)

Hilton also proposed reducing the $800 minimum franchise tax that businesses have to pay, regardless of their profits.

Among the lower-polling candidates, San José Mayor Matt Mahan and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond — both Democrats — have offered tax plans on opposite ends of the party’s ideological spectrum.

Thurmond supports the one-time 5% tax on the wealth of billionaires, which could raise up to $100 billion for health care and food assistance. Mahan vows to oppose all tax increases until oversight measures are in place.

The other candidates have not released detailed tax proposals.

Here’s what we know about the leading candidate’s tax plans so far:

Tom Steyer

Steyer argued that while the richest Californians should pay more, the state should focus on taxing corporations. He supports a proposal to close the so-called “water’s edge” loophole that allows multinational corporations to shelter their profits in countries with low tax rates to shield their international profits from state taxes. The proposal would require these corporations to pay taxes based on a share of their global income.

It’s an idea that progressives have floated for years but never managed to pass. This year, ahead of the November governor’s race, Sacramento legislators will debate closing the loophole again.

Steyer also floated a special election in 2027 to pass an increase on commercial property taxes, which were capped by Proposition 13.

Steyer and other progressives have long wanted to split off commercial properties from Proposition 13 protections, an idea known as “split roll.” In 2020, state voters rejected a measure to do just that.

“I am proposing closing a corporate real estate tax loophole that’s existed for over 40 years,” Steyer told KQED’s Political Breakdown. “That brings in more money to the state, that is permanent, that is completely fair.”

Steve Hilton

Hilton argued California’s budget problems are due to overspending, noting that the state budget has nearly doubled since 2017. He also said the state’s affordability problem is tied to how expensive it is to do business in California.

Hilton noted that California, the nation’s most populous state, has more people in poverty than any other state, according to federal government statistics.

“Why?” he said on Political Breakdown. “Because of all these combinations of the spending and the policies that are making it so difficult to start and grow businesses. As a result of that, costs go up. As a result of that, we increase welfare payments because people are struggling. That means taxes go higher. That means it becomes even more expensive. And we’ve got to get out of that cycle.”

Hilton said he will make the state more affordable by eliminating state income tax for Californians earning less than $100,000 and imposing a flat 7.5% tax on earnings over $100,000. Currently, the income tax tops out at 12.3% for individuals making more than $722,000 a year.

He opposed any changes to Proposition 13 and wants to eliminate the minimum franchise tax, which is about $800 annually for all businesses.

Hilton believes the tax cuts will grow California’s economy, which could result in more tax revenue.

Katie Porter

Porter framed her tax plan as key to tackling affordability. At its center: eliminating state income taxes for families who make under $100,000.

“The state takes a chunk of many people’s paychecks,” she said on Political Breakdown. “$100,000 allows people to make ends meet, but also to do the things we need them to do: To save for retirement. To be able to get a house, to be able to put a little money away for college.”

Porter said she would pay for that tax cut by changing California’s corporate tax, which is currently a flat 8.84%, no matter how much a company makes. She wants to increase it gradually, with the highest-earning corporations paying up to 9.75%.

“That would generate enough revenue … to deliver on my promise of free college tuition,” Porter said.

Her free college tuition plan would allow Californians to attend two years of community college for free, then transfer to a University of California or California State University campus, where the state would cover their tuition.

Chad Bianco

Bianco’s campaign said his tax priorities are “straightforward”: he wants to cut them and make up for lost revenue with undefined “wasteful spending” cuts.

Bianco proposed eliminating the state income tax entirely, opposing any new taxes and reducing “cost drivers like the gas tax,” according to a campaign spokesperson.

In a recent interview with KVCR, Bianco accused Democratic leaders of “bilking” the state for billions of dollars, pointing toward state contracts with nonprofits. He estimated annual waste and fraud at up to $50 billion — without providing specifics.

“California government is broken,” he said. “Number one, we absolutely have to stop the waste, the fraud, and the abuse going on in our government … So you eliminate all of the fraud, you become oil independent and use that to fund government, and now we don’t have to pay income taxes.”

He also would “provide targeted relief, including reducing or eliminating state taxes on tips.”

But in a debate with Hilton April 4 at the Lincoln Club of Coachella Valley, Bianco suggested that upending the state’s tax system would be more difficult than repealing regulations enacted by previous governors.

“Regulations are easy, we sign all of those away…all of those boards and commissions can be suspended, the regulations can be suspended,” Bianco said. “The taxes are going to be a different story.”

KVCR’s Madison Aument contributed reporting to this story.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2026 class of inductees on Monday night, a list of eight performers that includes an R&B legend, a heavy metal band and a drummer-turned-frontman whose music dominated mainstream pop-rock in the 1980s.

In recent years, the Rock Hall has expanded its definition of rock icons to include artists from a wider range of genres and backgrounds. The basic rules for induction have remained the same, though:

Artists become eligible for nomination 25 years after the release of their first commercial recording (in other words, artists whose debuts came out in 2001 are newly eligible this year). There are four different categories of inductees:

• Performers whose music and cultural impact has changed the course of rock and roll. 
• Influential musicians whose innovative styles have propelled cultural change, which this year includes key innovative voices in African and Latin music. 
• A "musical excellence" award designated for writers, producers and session musicians who have played a key role in rock history.
• The Ahmet Ertegun award, honoring industry professionals who are not performers but have made a significant impact on the business of music. 

The official induction ceremony will take place on Nov. 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. It will be streamed on ABC and Disney+ in December.

Performer Category

Phil Collins
Even though he was inducted into the Rock Hall as a member of Genesis in 2010, it was Collins' solo career, especially a string of hits in the 1980s, that helped turn him into one of the most commercially successful artists of that decade. The drummer-turned-singer is widely known for popularizing the "gated snare" recording technique — which cut off the lingering reverb from the drums — and resulted in an explosive sound that became a signature sound of the era. Collins' career spans over five decades and has earned him a long list of accolades, including an Academy Award for best original song in 2000 for "You'll Be In My Heart" from Disney's Tarzan.

Billy Idol
The British rocker Billy Idol enters the Rock Hall on his second nomination. Known for hits like "Dancing with Myself," "Rebel Yell" and "White Wedding," the bleach-blonde singer's punk rock attitude continues to reach fans around the world more than four decades since the release of his debut solo album.

Iron Maiden
Heavy metal fans rejoice! Iron Maiden is finally being inducted into the Rock Hall on its third nomination. Since the 1980s, the band has been redefining heavy rock with anthemic storytelling, full-throttle instrumentation and spooky iconography. Different iterations of the band's mascot, Eddie, have appeared on Iron Maiden's album covers and merch for decades, becoming a key fixture of a particular strain of teen rebellion.

Joy Division/New Order
After three nominations, Joy Division and New Order are entering the Rock Hall under a joint induction, recognizing the link between the groups. Both bands featured guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris, who were forced to reimagine their sound after the death of singer and songwriter Ian Curtis in 1980. Joy Division's moody post-punk sound, which featured the baritone vocals of Curtis, gave way to New Order's more electronic, dance-driven rhythms, which proved massively popular in the 1980s.

Oasis
Today is gonna be the day that Oasis gets into the Rock Hall. (Well, November 14 will be the actual day.) The Britpop group, led by brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, has had a resurgence since their highly-anticipated reunion tour last year (which briefly broke Ticketmaster and had fans on both sides of the Atlantic crying their hearts out).

Sade
The English band named for lead vocalist Sade Adu changed the sonic landscape of the 1980s and '90s with its blend of jazz, soul and R&B. The velvety, intimate quality of Sade's music echoes across generations of artists, from Drake to Adele, and has now earned the group Rock Hall inductee status.

Luther Vandross
After starting his career as a background vocalist for stars including David Bowie, Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder and many more, Luther Vandross became an R&B and soul legend under his own name, thanks to the sheer power of his voice beginning in the 1980s. (He was also a producer for A-listers like Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross.) With over a dozen studio albums, his influence has reached across generations to stars including Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and most recently, Kendrick Lamar, who named one of the biggest hits of 2025 after him. Vandross will be inducted after his first Rock Hall nomination.

Wu-Tang Clan
You can see the Rock Hall's effort to expand the definition of rock icons in past years particularly strongly when it comes to the hip-hop acts it inducts. At least one act from the genre — including the Notorious B.I.G., Missy Elliott, A Tribe Called Quest and Jay-Z — each year since 2020. Considering Wu-Tang Clan's collective and individual output, which spans more than 30 years and expanded the East Coast's mark on the genre with references to vintage kung-fu movies and dark humor, it's no wonder the Rock Hall is finally giving the Staten Island crew its long-deserved flowers.

Early Influence Award

Celia Cruz
The Cuban singer, widely known as The Queen of Salsa, becomes the first primarily Spanish-language artist to be inducted into the Rock Hall. After rising through the ranks of Havana's music scene in the 1950s, Cruz left her home country in exile and eventually landed in New York City, where she became one of the most prominent voices of the legendary salsa label, Fania Records.

Fela Kuti
At the end of the 1960s and into the '70s, the Nigerian singer and political activist helped create the Afrobeat genre by combining West African highlife with elements of jazz and funk. Known for his electrifying, unconventional live performances, the multi-instrumentalist is the Rock Hall's first African pop star.

Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah was only 19 years old when she released her debut album, All Hail the Queen, in 1989. Female empowerment has been at the forefront of her music and image since the beginning of her career. With songs like "Ladies First" and "U.N.I.T.Y.," Queen Latifah changed the landscape of male-dominated rap; alongside her music career, she has found arguably greater success as an actor.

MC Lyte
Another teenage pioneer in the world of hip-hop, the Brooklyn-raised rapper gained popularity with socially-conscious lyricism that tackled issues including street violence and drug addiction.

Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons played with The Byrds and helped spearhead the band's seminal country rock album Sweetheart of the Rodeo, which came out in 1968 — but he was technically considered a "sideman" and not a full member of the band. That's why Parsons was not inducted alongside his bandmates when The Byrds entered the Rock Hall in 1991. Now, the Americana visionary — who recorded a pair of celebrated and influential solo albums that featured duets with Emmylou Harris and also played with the Flying Burrito Brothers and the International Submarine Band — gets his due for melding folk, Southern twang and rock and roll before his death at the age of 26, in 1973.

Musical Excellence Award

Linda Creed
In the 1970s, Linda Creed wrote and produced love songs that would come to define the sound of Philadelphia soul, including the Stylistics' hits "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" and "You Are Everything," both of which were later covered by Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye. After being diagnosed with cancer at age 26, Creed wrote the song "The Greatest Love of All." Whitney Houston's rendition of the song would go on to top Billboard's Hot 100 chart shortly after Creed's death in 1986.

Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin's producer credits span more than four decades and dozens of legendary collaborations, including with Aretha Franklin, the Bee Gees, John Prine and Norah Jones. Born in Turkey, Mardin started working at Atlantic Records in the early 1960s and eventually became an executive and one of the label's most reliable hitmakers.

Jimmy Miller
Jimmy Miller signed a recording contract as a singer before finding his true calling behind the console, particularly for his work with the Rolling Stones across five albums: Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St. and Goats Head Soup. Known for encouraging and harnessing a group's raw, live energy in recording sessions, the producer left an indelible mark on the sound of rock and roll in the 1960s and '70s.

Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin co-founded Def Jam Recordings while studying film and television at New York University. He went on to turn the label into a powerhouse of 1980s and '90s hip-hop, producing and releasing albums by acts including LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Run-DMC and Public Enemy. He later founded the label American Recordings and served as co-president of Columbia Records. Since the founding of American Recordings, and particularly in his work with Johnny Cash, Rubin has become known for his skill in musical subtraction — paring down a recording to its essential elements.

Ahmet Ertegun Award

Ed Sullivan
He began his career as a sports journalist, but in 1948, Sullivan became the host of a television program — originally called Toast of the Town and later renamed The Ed Sullivan Show — that was welcomed into millions of people's living rooms every week. Sullivan's show widely introduced Americans to countless musicians, including Elvis Presley, The Jackson 5, The Supremes and, maybe most famously, The Beatles, whose first appearance on his show, in February 1964, was, at the time, one of the most-watched programs in history.
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