There are boomer takes, and then there’s whatever Gene Simmons is babbling about in his latest interview.
The KISS frontman — who, these days, is better known for his crotchety attitude than for his music — is lashing out yet again.
And this time, he’s participating in the bigoted tradition of explaining why hip hop is bad.
During a recent appearance on the “LegendsNLeaders” podcast, Simmons fumed over the fact that hip hop acts can be inducted inton Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“It’s not my music,” said Simmons, adding:
“I don’t come from the ghetto. It doesn’t speak my language. And as I said in print many times, hip-hop does not belong in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, nor does opera or symphony orchestras.
“How come the New York Philharmonic doesn’t get into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?”
From there, Simmons seethed over the fact that rappers have been honored by the Hall, while metal band Iron Maiden has yet to be inducted.
“Iron Maiden is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when they can sell out stadiums,” he said.
Apparently, Gene — who recently blasted his late bandmate Ace Frehley, blaming him for his own death — believes that every band that sells out a stadium deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame.
“Ice Cube and I had a back and forth,” Simmons continued.
“He shot back that it’s the ‘spirit’ of rock and roll … I just want to know when Led Zeppelin’s going to be in the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame?
“Music has labels because it describes an approach. By and large, rap, hip-hop is a spoken-word art,” he continued.
“Then you put beats in back of it and somebody comes up with a musical phrase, but it’s verbal. There are some melodies, but by and large, it’s a verbal thing.”
This is not the first time that Simmons has expressed his disdain for hip hop.
In a 2015 Rolling Stone interview, he said he was eagerly awaiting the “death of rap.”
When NWA was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, MC Ren told Simmons, “hip-hop is here forever — get used to it.”
Hopefully, Simmons won’t waste any more energy on the hip hop issue.
His time would be better spent on figuring out why even his colleagues in the rock realm have little respect for KISS.