- - Gene Simmons Responds to Backlash for Saying ‘I’m Not from the Ghetto’ in Rock Hall Rant (Exclusive)

Chris BarillaFebruary 12, 2026 at 12:59 AM

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Gene Simmons on Oct. 21, 2021, in Las Vegas

Ethan Miller/Getty

Gene Simmons doesn't feel that rap belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

"It’s not my music. I don’t come from the ghetto. It doesn’t speak my language," he proclaimed during a recent podcast appearance

He tells PEOPLE now that "I stand by my words," citing discrepancies in the association of the word "ghetto," a term first applied to Jews with racism, and adding, "You can agree to disagree and still respect and admire each other"

Gene Simmons is making his stance towards rap's inclusion in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame known.

The KISS bassist, 76, appeared on the Legends N Leaders podcast in a video shared on Saturday, Feb. 7, where the conversation led to hip-hop being mentioned among those inducted and included in exhibits in rock music's most sacred space.

Simmons shared, “The fact that, for instance, Iron Maiden is not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame when they can sell out stadiums, and Grandmaster Flash is… Ice Cube and I had a back and forth — he’s a bright guy, and I respect what he’s done."

"It’s not my music. I don’t come from the ghetto. It doesn’t speak my language," he proclaimed afterward.

Now, Simmons tells PEOPLE, "I stand by my words," while simultaneously looking to reclaim the term "ghetto."

Gene Simmons on Sept. 21, 2024, in Los Angeles

Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage

"Let's cut to the chase. The word 'ghetto,' it originated with Jews," he claims. “It was borrowed by African Americans in particular and respectfully, not in a bad way.”

To questions of whether his utilization of the word bore any intended racist undertone, he says, “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, statement of fact, period. All the major forms of American music owe their roots to Black music," he says.

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The sentiments shared by the KISS member during his appearance on the Legends N Leaders podcast echo a similar point he made a decade ago during a conversation with Rolling Stone in 2016, sharing that he felt "rap will die" in time.

“Next year, 10 years from now, at some point, and then something else will come along. And all that is good and healthy," he noted at the time.

Talking further about the genre at the time, Simmons added, “I don’t have the cultural background to appreciate being a gangster ... Of course, that’s not what it’s all about, but that’s where it comes from. That’s the heart and soul of it. It came from the streets.”

Gene Simmons on Jan. 12, 2026, in L.A.

Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty

In a 2021 conversation with Distractify, Simmons touched on the conditions surrounding his own upbringing before he and his mother relocated to New York City. "I was born six months after [Israel] became independent, and people were poor... We had dirt roads, horses, donkeys, and all that stuff. There was no Air Force, Navy, nothing! We didn’t have a refrigerator, we didn’t have a radio, our bathroom was a little hole in the ground outside this one-bedroom where we lived, my mother and I."

He tells PEOPLE today that although he recognizes parallels in hardship that both he and artists affiliated with hip-hop have experienced, he does not feel like "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."

“You can agree to disagree and still respect and admire each other. That's fine," he adds of the situation as a whole, while proclaiming, "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.”

Ultimately, Simmons jests, "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?"

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”