Gene Simmons is doubling down on his recent stance. In a new interview, the KISS bassist reacted to backlash he faced for his comments about hip-hop.
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The situation started when, during an appearance on the Legends N Leaders podcast, Simmons spoke out against rap’s inclusion in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
“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,” Simmons said. “… It’s not my music. I don’t come from the ghetto. It doesn’t speak my language.”
Some people took particular issue with Simmons’ use of the word “ghetto,” but the rocker told People, “I stand by my words.”
“Let’s cut to the chase. The word ‘ghetto,’ it originated with Jews,” he said. “It was borrowed by African Americans in particular and respectfully, not in a bad way. Ghetto is a Jewish term.”
Gene Simmons Elaborates on His Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Stance
As for whether his comments had a racial undertone, Simmons said, “How could you be, when rock is Black music?”
“It’s just a different Black music than hip-hop, which is also Black music,” he said. “Rock ‘n’ roll owes everything to Black music, statement of fact, period. All the major forms of American music owe their roots to Black music.”
Simmons, who’s previously spoken out about the challenging conditions amid his early childhood in Israel, further noted, “You’re not going to win the prize with talking about, ‘My people this and my people [that]’… So if you want to play the card of… ‘We’ve been tortured’… Us too.”
“You can agree to disagree and still respect and admire each other. That’s fine,” he added. “I have a sense of humor, and you don’t have to agree with my opinion, but I stand by my words. That’s what I believe.”
In the end, Simmons boiled down his stance to three points.
“One, I admire and respect hip-hop. Two, it is not rock ‘n’ roll,” he said. “And three, when are Led Zeppelin and AC/DC going to be inducted into the Hip Hop Hall of Fame?”
Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
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