Gene Simmons Slams Hip-Hop at Rock Hall

Gene Simmons came under fire on social media on Wednesday for comments he made criticizing the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for admitting hip-hop artists.

The 76-year-old Kiss bassist and singer — who apologized in December for comments about the late Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley — argued on the Legends N Leaders podcast over the weekend that rap and hip-hop don't 'speak [his] language.'

Critics on social media were particularly incensed by Simmons saying that he 'doesn't come from the ghetto' as an argument for why the hip-hop artists should not be included in the Hall of Fame, which is located in Cleveland, Ohio.

Some users on social media branded Simmons's comments as racist due to his evocation of ghettos.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Simmons's representative and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for comment.

The Kiss rocker's complaints about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame were set off after he opined that critics and their tastes weren't a strong way to judge the importance of artists. 

Gene Simmons came under fire on social media on Wednesday for comments he made criticizing the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for admitting hip-hop artists; pictured in 2013 in LA

The 76-year-old Kiss bassist and singer argued on the Legends N Leaders podcast over the weekend that rap and hip-hop don't 'speak [his] language,' adding 'I don't come from the ghetto'; pictured with Kiss in 2023 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan

'The fact that, for instance, Iron Maiden is not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame when they can sell out stadiums, and Grandmaster Flash is,' he said, using the Hall of Fame as a stand-in for critical tastemakers.

Simmons then evoked the rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube as he distanced himself from hip-hop music. 

'Ice Cube and I had a back and forth — he’s a bright guy, and I respect what he’s done,' Simmons continued, before declaring, 'It’s not my music. I don’t come from the ghetto. It doesn’t speak my language.'

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Simmons then emphasized that his stance on rap being honored by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was nothing new. 

'I said in print many times: Hip-hop does not belong in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, nor does opera, symphony orchestras,' he continued. 'It’s called the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.'

Simmons then noted that Ice Cube allegedly pushed back on him by replying, 'No, it's the spirit of rock n' roll.' 

'OK, fine ... I just want to know when Led Zeppelin’s gonna be in the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame,' Simmons responded after the fact. 'Music has labels, because it describes an approach.'

He shared similar opinions in a 2014 interview with Radio.com. 

'The fact that, for instance, Iron Maiden is not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame when they can sell out stadiums, and Grandmaster Flash is,' he said, using the Hall of Fame as a stand-in for critical tastemakers; pictured with Donald Trump on December 6 in the Oval Office

'Ice Cube and I had a back and forth — he’s a bright guy, and I respect what he’s done,' Simmons continued. He said Ice Cube defended hip-hop as being in 'the spirit of rock n' roll'; Ice Cube is pictured in September in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

'OK, fine ... I just want to know when Led Zeppelin’s gonna be in the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame,' Simmons — who's band Kiss was inducted in 2014 — responded. 'Music has labels, because it describes an approach'; pictured in September in LA

Ice Cube, who was inducted with N.W.A., said in his acceptance speech: 'Rock n’ roll is not an instrument. It’s not even a style of music. It’s a spirit that’s been going on since the blues, jazz, bebop, soul, rock n’ roll, R&B, heavy metal, punk rock and, yes, hip-hop'; seen in 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana

'You’ve got Grandmaster Flash in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? Run-D.M.C. in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? You’re killing me!' Simmons exclaimed. 

'That doesn’t mean those aren’t good artists. But they don’t play guitar. They sample and they talk. Not even sing…' he said. 'They can run their organization any way they’d like, but it ain’t rock!'

Although Simmons was concerned about the heavy metal pathbreaker Iron Maiden not being in the Hall of Fame, his own band, Kiss, was inducted back in 2014.

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After Eminem's 2022 induction struck up controversy, the Hall of Fame's CEO Greg Harris defended the connection between rock n' roll and hip-hop. 'You listen to his music, it is as hard hitting and straight ahead as any metal song … It’s a chest punch with a message and with a power and with a rhythm and with a band,' he told Audacy, via Billboard. 

Simmons's sparring partner, Ice Cube, was also inducted just two years later for his work with the iconic rap group N.W.A.

During his induction speech, the rapper (born O'Shea Jackson) defended hip-hop's place in the institution. 

'Rock n’ roll is not an instrument. It’s not even a style of music,' he argued. 'It’s a spirit that’s been going on since the blues, jazz, bebop, soul, rock n’ roll, R&B, heavy metal, punk rock and, yes, hip-hop. 

'Rock n’ roll is not conforming to the people who came before you, but creating your own path in music and life,' Ice Cube added. 'That is rock n’ roll and that is us.'

Other hop-hop stars who have been inducted include pioneers like LL Cool J, Jay Z and Missy Elliott.