Gene Simmons has had some hot takes over the years. This new one, though, is a cold take, and maybe a bit racist? In a Legends N Leaders podcast rant, the KISS bassist/singer complained about rap artists being included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He said he doesn’t get it because he doesn’t “come from the ghetto.”
“The fact that Iron Maiden is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, when they can sell out stadiums, and Grandmaster Flash is,” Simmons said, as transcribed by Blabbermouth. The legendary rock musician said that he once had this exact conversation with a hip-hop icon.
“Ice Cube and I had a back-and-forth, and he’s a bright guy, and I respect what he’s done,” Simmons recalled. “It’s not my music. I don’t come from the ghetto. It doesn’t speak my language. And I said in print many times, hip-hop does not belong in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, nor does opera, symphony orchestras. How come the New York Philharmonic doesn’t get the Rock and Roll [Hall of Fame induction]?
Gene Simmons doesn’t want opera in the Rock Hall of Fame either
“‘Cause it’s called the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. But [Ice Cube] shot back and said, ‘No, it’s the spirit of rock and roll.’ Okay, fine. So Ice Cube and Grandmaster Flash, and all these guys are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I just wanna know when Led Zeppelin’s gonna be in the Hip-Hop Hall Of Fame. Oh, you can’t do that? Oh, really?!”
“Music has labels because it describes an approach,” Simmons 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. There are some melodies, but by and large it’s a verbal thing — it’s rhyming and all that. And I know [rapper] Eminem can [rap really quickly]. I wish him more success. I really don’t give a f***. It just doesn’t speak to me. With the genius of being able to put words and music and arrange it, it’s much more complex.
Simmons also offered some backhanded compliments to EDM music, which honestly felt more disparaging than kind
Later, Simmons was asked his thoughts on the general state of music today. “I think it’s wonderful,” he replied. “I’ve seen some amazingly talented people, but the saddest thing of all is that the industry, the business… It’s always been called music ‘business’.”
“The fools, the hippies, the socialists, the communists think it’s called music. No,” Simmons added. “Even in the Renaissance, the only way the classical musicians survived is that they had to be sponsored. Mozart piano concertos and all that, somebody had to pay for that.”
“The biggest problem is that the next Beatles, the next Elvis [Presley] is not gonna have a chance because record companies don’t give out advances,” the aging rock star explained. “There’s no business. Fans are downloading for zero, next to it, so if you’re a musician, you can’t get paid for your art.
“I’ve seen so many talented musicians, artists, singers, all these people that get up on ‘The Voice’ and ‘American Idol’ — a lot of people have talent,” he added. “They’ll be back at the Holiday Inn singing ‘Hang On Sloopy’ or something.”
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