Gene Simmons Blasts Rock Hall of Fame for Inducting Rap Artists Like Ice Cube

Gene Simmons doesn’t think that rap music deserves a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The legendary KISS frontman said during a recent interview on theLegendsNLeaders podcast posted earlier this week that the music “doesn’t speak my language” because “I don’t come from the ghetto.” After making the inflammatory remarks, Simmons went on to detail a testy encounter between himself and former N.W.A. rapper Ice Cube.

Gene Simmons Can't Relate to Rap Music

“The fact that, for instance, [that] Iron Maiden is not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, when they can sell out stadiums, and Grandmaster Flash is, right?” Simmons reasoned during the interview. “Ice Cube and I had a back and forth [about this]. 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.”

He Fought with Ice Cube Over the Issue

Simmons continued, expressing sincere confusion at why the genre is recognized by the Hall of Fame. “I said in print many times: Hip-hop does not belong in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Nor does opera, symphonies, orchestras [sic]. How come the New York Philharmonic doesn’t get in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? Because it’s called the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!

“But [Ice Cube] shot back and said, ‘No, it’s the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll.’ Okay, fine. So Ice Cube and Grandmaster Flash and all these guys are in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I just want to know when Led Zeppelin is going to be in the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. ‘Oh, you can’t do that.’ Oh, really? Music has labels because it describes an approach. Hip-hop and rap is a spoken word art. There are some melodies but, by and large, it’s a verbal thing.”

Simmons concluded: “It just doesn’t speak to me. The genius of being able to put music and words and arrange it is much more complex.”

Ice Cube Addressed the Controversy in His Induction Speech

Ice Cube was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame along with N.W.A. in 2016, two years after Simmons was inducted alongside his KISS bandmates. Other notable rappers that have been inducted into the Hall of Fame include Jay-Z (2021) and Eminem (2022). When Ice Cube was inducted, he directly addressed the controversy surrounding rap’s inclusion. “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,” he said. “Rock ‘n’ roll is not conforming to the people who came before you, but creating your own path in music and life.”