Jay-Z has several reasons to be happy right now.

Jay-Z最近可谓“多喜临门”。

Less than a month after it was announced he and his wife Beyonce are expecting twins - he is to receive a top songwriting honour.

在宣布妻子碧昂斯怀了双胞胎之后不到一个月，他又将收获创作人的最高荣誉。

Jay-Z is to become the first rapper ever inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in the US.

Jay-Z将成为首位入选美国创作人名人堂的说唱歌手。

A handful of artists who are considered to have "enriched the world's culture" with their songwriting and music are selected for induction¹ every year.

每年都有一些艺术家入选创作人名人堂，人们认为他们凭借自己的创作和音乐“丰富了世界文化”。

Joining the hall of fame is a huge deal - previous inductees include Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson.

入选名人堂是非常了不起的事情——此前的入选者包括马文?盖伊、鲍勃?迪伦、多莉?帕顿、布鲁斯?斯普林斯汀以及迈克尔?杰克逊。

But no rapper has ever made the cut before.

但之前从没有说唱歌手被选中。

Jay-Z will be inducted as part of the hall's class of 2017 alongside Max Martin, who has written songs for Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Ariana Grande.

和Jay-Z一同入选2017年名人堂的还有马克斯?马丁，他曾为泰勒?斯威夫特、凯蒂?派瑞以及爱莉安娜?格兰德创作过歌曲。

Other inductees this year will include Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The duo have written and produced number one singles for Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey and Usher², among many others.

今年的其他入选者还包括吉米?杰姆和特里?刘易斯。他们曾为珍妮?杰克逊、玛利亚?凯利以及亚瑟小子等歌手编写制作过冠军单曲。

Songwriters are eligible³ for induction after writing hit tracks for at least 20 years.

作曲家们至少要拥有20年的热门歌曲创作经历才有资格入选名人堂。

This explains why Jay-Z is being inducted now - as he recently passed the 20th anniversary of his debut⁴ album Reasonable Doubt, released in 1996.

这就是Jay-z现在被选中的原因，近日Jay-Z的首张专辑《合理质疑》刚好面世二十周年，该专辑是1996年发行的。

Chic⁵ guitarist Nile Rodgers, who was one of last year's inductees, said Jay-Z had "changed the way we listen to music".

去年的入选者、Chic乐团的吉他手尼尔?罗杰斯称，Jay-Z已经“改变了我们聆听音乐的方式”。

Madonna and George Michael were both nominated this year as well but weren't chosen this time.

今年麦当娜和乔治?迈克尔也获得了提名，但是这次并没有被选中。