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Gene Simmons is standing by controversial comments he made about hip-hop’s place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — and he’s not backing down.
During a recent podcast appearance, the KISS bassist questioned why rap artists have been inducted into the Rock Hall while bands like Iron Maiden have not. In that conversation, Simmons said, “It’s not my music. I don’t come from the ghetto. It doesn’t speak my language.”
The remark drew backlash online, with many pointing to the long history of anti-Black rhetoric tied to the word “ghetto” — and to the broader pattern of dismissing hip-hop’s legitimacy as an American art form.
In an exclusive response to PEOPLE, Simmons said plainly: “I stand by my words,” while attempting to contextualize his use of the term.
“Let's cut to the chase. The word 'ghetto,' it originated with Jews,” he claimed. “It was borrowed by African Americans in particular and respectfully, not in a bad way.”
When asked whether his statement carried racist undertones, Simmons responded: “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.”
He continued: “Rock 'n' roll owes everything to Black music, statement of fact, period. All the major forms of American music owe their roots to Black music.”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has inducted hip-hop pioneers including Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy, N.W.A., Tupac Shakur and Jay-Z — reflecting the Hall’s long-standing position that “rock and roll” represents a cultural force shaped by rhythm and blues and other Black musical traditions.
Simmons has previously criticized rap’s inclusion. In a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, he predicted “rap will die,” adding at the time that he did not have “the cultural background to appreciate being a gangster.”
In his latest comments to PEOPLE, Simmons referenced his own upbringing in Israel before immigrating to New York City, acknowledging hardship while pushing back on comparisons rooted in oppression.
“You're not going to win the prize with talking about, 'My people this and my people [that].' ... So if you want to play the card of ... We've been tortured ... Us too.”
He added, “You can agree to disagree and still respect and admire each other. That's fine,” before reiterating: “I have a sense of humor, and you don't have to agree with my opinion, but I stand by my words. That's what I believe.”
Simmons closed by questioning genre boundaries altogether: “One, I admire and respect hip-hop. Two, it is not rock 'n' roll. And three, when are Led Zeppelin and AC/DC going to be inducted into the Hip Hop Hall of Fame?”
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