“Kiss are rock gods, but they don’t have a lot of roll to them”: Public Enemy leader Chuck D responds to Gene Simmons’ comments that hip-hop doesn’t belong in the Rock Hall
Should the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame be reserved only for veterans of the rock genre? It’s a stance Gene Simmons holds, and made clear during a recent appearance on the Legends N Leaders podcast.
“Hip-hop does not belong in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame – nor does opera or symphony orchestras,” he said.
Whether or not the Rock Hall should include artists from a wide range of genres is up for debate – but the fact remains that many non-rock artists, including hip-hop veterans like Public Enemy, Grandmaster Flash and Run-D.M.C., count themselves as inductees.
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And in a new interview with TMZ, Public Enemy leader Chuck D refutes the comments of his fellow Rock Hall of Famer Gene Simmons, saying he’s missing the “roll” part of the Hall’s name.
“Everything else other than rock, when rock ‘n’ roll splintered in the ’60s, is the roll,” he explains [via NME]. “Soul music, reggae, hip-hop, which is rap music. Hip-hop is a culture, so it embodies sight, sound, story, and style.”
“But music, the vocal on top of the music, has already been determined. So that’s the roll, that’s flow, that’s the soul in it. Kiss are rock gods, but they don’t have a lot of roll to them.”
Chuck D is thee right person to address Gene Simmons’ tone deaf commentary.
I love how he focuses on the importance of music creation and narratives because it’s not enough to own our stories.
We have to keep telling them too. #BHMpic.twitter.com/qSIqLcxNTZ
— Renee (@PettyLupone) February 13, 2026
Gene Simmons attracted criticism with his initial comments, in which he spoke about hip-hop: “It’s not my music. I don’t come from the ghetto. It doesn’t speak my language.”
In a recent interview with People, the bassist denied that his comments were racially veiled, saying, “I stand by my words,” while adding: “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.”
“Rock ‘n’ roll owes everything to Black music,” he concluded, adding: “All the major forms of American music owe their roots to Black music.”
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