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Gene Simmons has never been one to bite his serpentine tongue and the surviving members of N.W.A. seem happy to throw down with the outspoken KISS co-founder.
Gene Simmons, the frontman of iconic rock band, Kiss, has been making some very bold statements lately that furthermore prove he is not a hip-hop fan. While the genre and culture is not for everyone, Simmons has gone as far as to disregard the likes of Grandmaster Flash and RUN-DMC, not even acknowledging them as musicians.
Ice Cube, of course, had a rebuttal loaded and ready, working the crowd at the 31st annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony honoring N.W.A.
‘The question is, ‘Are we rock ‘n’ roll?'” Ice Cube asked. “And I say — you goddamn right we rock ‘n’ roll.”
“Rock ‘n’ roll is not an instrument,” he continued. “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. Rock ‘n roll is not conforming to the people who came before you but creating your own path in music and in life. That is rock ‘n roll and that is us.”
MC Ren also addressed Simmons in the acceptance speech saying, ”I want to say to Gene Simmons, hip-hop is here forever. Get used to it.”
Simmons fired back on Twitter saying, “Respectfully– let me know when Jimi Hendrix gets into the hip-hop hall of fame. Then you’ll have a point.”
The original exchange began during a conversation with Rolling Stone where Simmons said, “Rap will die. Next year, ten years from now, at some point, and then something else will come along. And all that is good and healthy. I am looking forward to the death of rap. I’m looking forward to music coming back to lyrics and melody, instead of just talking. A song, as far as I’m concerned, is by definition lyric and melody, or just melody.”
All in all, if the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame was strictly limited to a narrow definition of “rock music,” legends such as Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, James Brown and many more would be missing from the hall’s walls, and that is simply not the case.
Agencies/Canadajournal
