When it comes to hip-hop, The GRAMMYs haven’t always gotten it right (Puffy Daddy over Wu-Tang, Macklemore over Kendrick, etc. etc.), but this year might just turn out different.

On a night when Kendrick looks to make history with 11 nominations, the Academy will also honor a group that’s as hip-hop as it gets when they award Run-D.M.C. with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

This is the first time The GRAMMYs have bestowed the honor on a hip-hop artist, and it seems only fitting that the first rap group to be nominated for a GRAMMY—their self-titled album was nominated in 1984 and was also the first rap album to go gold – is also the first hip-hop act to receive a lifetime achievement award. Thirty years out, and they are still making history; true hip-hop pioneers.

I know The GRAMMYs aren’t the end-all-be-all, hip-hop heads don’t need any Academy to legitimize Run-D.M.C.’s contributions to the culture, but regardless, it’s the damn GRAMMYs, a night when music gets honored in front of the industry’s best and brightest and feels good to see hip-hop finally getting it’s just due.

Better late than never, right? The only shame is Jam Master Jay won’t be there to accept the award in person. RIP. 

Photo Credit: Instagram