Gene Simmons Says Rap Doesn’t Connect Like Classic Rock
KISS bassist and co-founder Gene Simmons has again weighed in on rap and hip-hop, arguing that the genre simply doesn’t resonate with him in the way classic rock songwriting does. In a new interview, Simmons also revisited his long-running criticism of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s definition of “rock and roll,” pointing to what he sees as inconsistent standards for induction.
Simmons told the “Legends N Leaders” podcast that he respects artists like Ice Cube but that the music “doesn’t speak my language,” adding that rap is “by and large… a spoken-word art” built around beats and verbal phrasing; BLABBERMOUTH.NET reported that Simmons contrasted that approach with the “genius” of combining melody, lyrics, and arrangement in rock.
He also returned to the Hall Of Fame debate, saying he doesn’t understand how a band like Iron Maiden can sell out stadiums and still be excluded while hip-hop pioneers have been inducted. Simmons described his exchange with Ice Cube over the idea that the institution represents “the spirit of rock and roll,” joking that he wants to know when Led Zeppelin will be recognized by a “Hip-Hop Hall Of Fame” if genre borders are going to be ignored.
The comments arrive as Simmons continues to navigate KISS’s post-touring era, after the band played its final shows in makeup in December 2023 and later sold its catalog, likeness, and brand to Pophouse Entertainment. Simmons’s latest remarks also follow years of blunt public takes on his former bandmates, including when he described Ace Frehley as “self-destructive” while discussing KISS’s volatile internal history.
While the Hall Of Fame argument is unlikely to disappear, Simmons’s broader point was about longevity: he suggested that the most enduring music is the kind that inspires musicians to form bands, learn songs, and keep playing them decades later.
