Chuck D hits back at Gene Simmons claiming hip-hop shouldn’t be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Public Enemy’s Chuck D has responded after Kiss’ Gene Simmons stated that hip-hop shouldn’t belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Both Chuck D and Simmons are Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, with Public Enemy becoming the fourth hip-hop act to be inducted in 2013. A year later, Simmons was inducted as a member of Kiss.
Earlier this week, Simmons courted controversy when he appeared on the Legends and Leaders podcast and unleashed upon a rant regarding the inclusion of hip-hop in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which began when Grandmaster Flash was inducted almost 20 years ago.
During the podcast episode, Simmons questioned, “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.”
In addition to asking why Led Zeppelin aren’t inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame, Simmons also said of the genre, “It’s not my music. I don’t come from the ghetto. It doesn’t speak my language.”
The Kiss bassist has faced a backlash to his comments, including from Chuck D who took to social media to state that rock ‘n’ roll is a broad spectrum, which isn’t exclusive to traditional rock acts.
Taking to X, the rap icon wrote, “Gene definitely has his opinion and it carries major weight… however it is The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame … not considering it ‘ROCK’ may hold a debatable point but clearly RAP and some other genres of movement are the ‘ROLL’.”
Chuck D added, “Rock and Roll clearly splintered all over the place in the 1960s and big banged ever since.”
After Simmons faced pushback for his remarks, he doubled down on his stance, insisting, “I stand by my words.”
He also denied that his choice of language carried racial undertones, stating, “Ghetto is a Jewish term … How could you be, when rock is Black music? It’s just a different Black music than hip-hop, which is also Black music.”
Additionally, Simmons conceded “rock ‘n’ roll owes everything to Black music” and “all the major forms of American music owe their roots to Black music”.
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