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No, not Bo. Bono knows.

While discussing U2′s accomplishments & accepting praise, the singer was asked who else might deserve to be enshrined in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Probably to the shock of the interviewer and everybody else, he mentioned the band it took millions to hold back.

Since artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first recording, many of the influential figures of mid-1980s hip-hop are only now beginning to be recognized.

“Public Enemy, for instance, needs to go straight in,” Bono said. “That’s as important a moment as the Beatles. It changed popular culture for the next 25 years, and it was important as the Beatles.”

Way to pay it forward Bono & I agree. It seems like we’ve been on a recent kick, mentioning key figures from rap’s early years more and more. But when you look back, it was KRS, Rakim & Chuck occupying the top slots before it was Biggie, Jay-Z and Nas. Sure, inclusion seems ironic, even bullshit maybe. Yet with rap ingrained into America’s pop culture fabricate, pay homage to those who helped lay the seeds.

Tricky Time As Rock Hall Turns 25 [LAT]