Veteran rapper Melle Mel hopes his induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame will force the hip-hop genre to "grow up".

Melle Mel - real name Melvin Glover - and his Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five bandmates became the first hip-hop artists to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame on Monday in New York.

And Mel believes the landmark achievement could make hip-hop ditch its violent image.

He says, "The main thing that the induction would do for the industry is force it to grow up. They're trying to make it a little too juvenile, a lot too ghetto.

"Everybody understands the dope part of this, the violent part of it, so now lets get back to the music part.

"This forces everybody to put a different face on hip-hop as a music-driven culture. It can be a teacher, a star of the community, rather than just an act on the corner."

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)