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Gene Simmons is once again under scrutiny after questioning the inclusion of hip hop artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Let’s get right to what he said.
Speaking on the Legends N Leaders podcast, the KISS co founder argued that the institution should remain exclusive to traditional rock acts.
“I said in print many times that hip-hop does not belong in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, nor does opera, [and] symphony orchestras,” Gene Simmons said. “How come the New York Philharmonic doesn’t get the Rock & Roll [induction]? ‘Cuz it’s called the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.”
He pointed to perceived inconsistencies in the Hall’s selections.
“The fact, for instance, that Iron Maiden is not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, when they can sell out stadiums, and Grandmaster Flash is…” Simmons continued. “Ice Cube and I had a back and forth. He’s a bright guy and I respect what he’s done. It’s not my music. I don’t come from the ghetto. It doesn’t speak my language.”
Simmons maintained that genre distinctions matter.
“Music has labels because it describes an approach,” he continued. “By and large, rap, hip-hop is a spoken-word art. You put beats in back of it and somebody comes up with a musical phrase, but it’s verbal.”
His past remarks have echoed similar sentiments, including a 2016 interview where he said he was “looking forward to the death of rap.”
Public Enemy’s Chuck D responded in an interview with TMZ, stating KISS is rock, but they got no roll. He added that Simmons “seems to say this every 3 years.”
Chuck emphasized that when rock and roll splintered in the 1960s, other genres became part of the roll, urging critics to maintain the facts and the narrative.