CLEVELAND — Nwaka Onwusa spends her days surrounded by the sounds of music legends, many that inspire and motivate her. 

What You Need To Know

  • Women who made history in music are being put in the spotlight at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

  • Ohio native Chrissie Hynde is an inductee and Ohioans such as Tracy Chapman, Macy Gray and The Deal Sisters are included in exhibits

  • The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Vice President and curator Nwaka Onwusa said women’s contributions to rock can’t be denied

“Music is one of those beautiful healing tools, but it's also a powerful tool that women have used to break the sound barriers and break that glass ceiling,” Onwusa said. 

Onwusa broke barriers herself. She’s the first Black person to curate the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She helps tell the story of rock to the hundreds of thousands of visitors who visit the hall yearly.  

Onwusa said it’s a story that can’t be told without women. 

“We need to you know kind of erase and eradicate this illusion of what rock and roll is depicted as. There is a visual of this being a male, white-dominated genre that has a specific sound and a specific feeling a specific style — not the case,” Onwusa said. 

She said historically, women have influenced every genre of music, but haven’t been always put in the spotlight. 

“You don't get Elvis’s 'You ain't Nothing but a Hound Dog' without sister Rosetta Tharpe and Ma Rainey and these amazing, amazing voices and blues music,” she said. 

Because of Onwusa’s thoughtful curations, women’s contributions to rock are evident throughout Hall of Fame exhibits, and they’re  starting to shine when it comes to inductions.

History is being made here at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This year’s induction nominee ballot is one of the most gender-inclusive. Stars such as Dolly Parton, Kate Bush and Dionne Warwick are on the list.

“We’re continuing to see a growing number of female musicians, artists, bands who are making their way on the nominee ballot and being inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame and i think this is such a special moment for music as the tables are turning,” Onwusa said. 

As those tables continue to turn, and women’s songs and stories are shared more broadly, Onwusa expects that it will only show future lady rock and rollers that their art matters and deserves to be amplified. 

“I'm inspired to work and celebrate and preserve their message in music, to inspire the next generation of girls,” Onwusa said. 

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