“Hip-hop does not belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”: Gene Simmons explains why rap doesn’t speak to him like rock and roll
What does Gene Simmons make of rap and hip-hop’s place in the musical pantheon? Not much apparently.
Speaking on the Legends N Leaders podcast, the Kiss bassist says the genres simply don’t resonate with him, maintaining that rock music’s blend of melody, songwriting craft and cultural longevity puts it in a different league altogether.
Simmons begins by questioning rap’s place in the Rock Hall: “The fact that, for instance, Iron Maiden is not in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, when they can sell out stadiums, and Grandmaster Flash is,” he says [via Blabbermouth].
READ MORE: “You can’t find a new big rock band – they don’t exist”: Gene Simmons explains why rock music is no longer “fashionable”
It’s an argument Simmons says he’s taken up directly with hip-hop artists themselves: “Ice Cube and I had a back-and-forth [on this subject], and he’s a bright guy and I respect what he’s done,” he says. “[But] it’s not my music. I don’t come from the ghetto. It doesn’t speak my language. And I said in print many times, hip-hop does not belong in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame – nor does opera, symphony orchestras.”
“How come the New York Philharmonic doesn’t get [inducted into] the Rock And Roll [Hall Of Fame]? ‘Cause it’s called the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’. But he shot back and said, ‘No, it’s the spirit of rock and roll.’ OK, fine. So Ice Cube and Grandmaster Flash and all these guys are in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. I just wanna know when Led Zeppelin’s gonna be in the Hip-Hop Hall Of Fame. ‘Oh, you can’t do that?’ Oh, really?”
As Simmons explains, “music has labels because it describes an approach. By and large, rap, hip-hop is a spoken-word art. 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 – it’s rhyming and all that. And I know Eminem can [rap really quickly]. I wish him more success. I really don’t give a fuck. It just doesn’t speak to me.”
That distinction, he argues, is why rock songwriting still carries more weight for him. “With the genius of being able to put words and music and arrange it, it’s much more complex,” Simmons says. “The hardest thing to do is to write a simple, memorable song.”
Those values also shape his view of modern pop and electronic music. While Simmons insists he enjoys EDM and respects its ability to ‘make people happy’, he questions the genre’s long-term cultural impact.
“In terms of talent? … There are no tribute bands to [electronic artist and DJ] Skrillex. Nobody covers those songs,” he says. “There’s not a garage band, a new band that goes, ‘Fuck. The Swiss Mafia [Simmons is presumably referring to Swedish House Mafia here] have got this thing that I love. Let’s try to do a version of it and play it in the club.’ Nobody does that.”
Despite his criticisms, Simmons insists he isn’t anti- modern music. “I think it’s wonderful,” he says of today’s talent. His concern, instead, is the “business” behind it. Without record advances and sustainable income, he argues, artists can’t build the kind of careers that once defined entire generations.
“The biggest problem is that the next Beatles, the next Elvis is not gonna have a chance because record companies don’t give out advances… There’s no business. Fans are downloading for zero, next to it, so if you’re a musician, you can’t get paid for your art.”
For Simmons, that economic shift helps explain why modern popularity doesn’t always translate into lasting influence.
“Where’s that pivotal artist that shakes the rafters? You have popular artists. Taylor [Swift] has been the most popular artist, perhaps of all time. That does not move the needle,” he says. “New bands don’t form and say, ‘Let’s do 10 Taylor songs.’ No, that’s fame versus something deeper. So when you go to see a bar band, they’re gonna be playing the song. They’ll play Freebird, they’ll play Satisfaction, they’ll play the songs that have stood the test of time.”
The post “Hip-hop does not belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”: Gene Simmons explains why rap doesn’t speak to him like rock and roll appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
