Janet Jackson and Nas are receiving a particular honor – their albums are slated to be inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. Jackson’s seminal 1989 album, Rhythm Nation 1814, and Nas’ debut record, 1994’s Illmatic, will be the ones inducted this year.

Jackson simply reacted to the news with a tweet saying, “I’M SPEECHLESS!” James “Jimmy Jam” Harris, one of the producers on Rhythm Nation, released a statement following the news, saying, “We wanted Rhythm Nation to really communicate empowerment. It was making an observation, but it was also a call to action. Janet’s purpose was to lead people and do it through music, which I think is the ultimate uniter of people.”

The two albums are among the 25 inductees into the Registry for this year, the oldest of which is a recording of tinfoil by Thomas Edison. The other inductees include Christmas Eve wartime broadcasts by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill from 1941, Labelle’s original “Lady Marmalade” from 1974, 1980’s “Celebration” by Kool & the Gang, and “The Rainbow Connection,” a 1979 single by Kermit the Frog. The most recently released inductee is a 2008 episode of NPR’s “This American Life.”

Jackson and Nas are both among the most acclaimed artists of their respective generations. Nas’ induction adds to a particularly good year for him, having received his first Grammy award after almost three decades in the business for 2020’s King’s Disease. Meanwhile, Jackson will be entering the limelight once again with the release of the two-part documentary Janet sometime this year.