The nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced on Monday. Nine nominees, including living legends Metallica and hip-hop group Run-DMC, will be competing for the five spots the hall wants to fill in 2009.

About 500 specialists of the industry will choose five of the nine nominees. The 24th annual induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is scheduled for April 4 in Cleveland. The jury will make public its decision in January.

The list of nominees also includes:
-    musician and songwriter Bobby Womack,
-    guitarist Jeff Beck,
-    R&B band Chic,
-    singer Wanda Jackson,
-    doo-wop group Little Anthony and the Imperials,
-    rock band The Stooges,
-    the California funk band War.

The list of nominees includes a wide range of musical genres such as hip-hop, metal, punk, disco and R&B. There are also many first-time candidates. Only three nominees have been previously nominated for Hall of Fame induction: Chic, the Stooges and Jackson.

"It's an interesting group because it really shows the nominating committee showed some thought and energy into who should be inducted," said Joel Peresman, president of the NYC-based Rock Hall foundation.

If inducted, Run-DMC will be only the second hip-hip group to enter the hall of fame. The only hip hop act inducted so far is Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five who made it in 2007. Run-DMC was founded in the 1980s by Joseph (Run) Simmons, Darryl (DMC) McDaniels and the late Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell, who died in 2002.

The other group who will most probably enter the Hall of Fame is Metallica. The rock band was founded by vocalist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich and became the most prominent heavy metal band of their era, a fact acknowledged by the hall in a recently-released statement.

A musician or band become eligible for the Hall of Fame 25 years after their first single was released. When granted the honor of entering the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the musicians are represented in an exhibition at the hall and in the Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.