Is Hip Hop Rock & Roll? Gene Simmons , Ice Cube , Disagree With One Another
"Let me know when @JimiHendrix gets into the hip-hop hall of fame" the Kiss bassist wrote. "Then youll have a point."
Well that didn't take very long. Just two days after N.W.A was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where Ice Cube blasted Gene Simmons' claim that the group didn't belong in the institution because they weren't in fact rock and roll, the Kiss bassist has offered a response. "Let me know when @JimiHendrix gets into the hip hop hall of fame" he wrote today on Twitter. "Then youll have a point."
Setting aside the fact that a hip-hop hall of fame doesn't exist, the assertion itself is actually baseless. Take a look at the names included in the Rock Hall's very first induction class and you'll find blues master Robert Johnson , country innovator Jimmie Rodgers , and the "Hardest Working Man in Show Business" the "King of Soul" Mr. James Brown. Oh, and the year after that they inducted Aretha Franklin , B.B. King , and Marvin Gaye . The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has never, in its entire history, limited itself to purely "rock" acts.
This entire exchange kicked off a few weeks back when Simmons stated in an interview with Rolling Stone that, "I am looking forward to the death of hip-hop." And that's after an earlier statement when he said, "You've got Grandmaster Flash in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Run-D.M.C. in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? You're killing me. That doesn't mean those aren't good artists. But they don't play guitar. They sample and they talk. Not even sing."
Like Ice Cube said in his speech , 'The question is, 'Are we rock 'n' roll?'" he asked the crowd. "And I say -- you goddamn right we rock 'n' roll. Rock 'n' roll is not an instrument. 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."
https://www.yahoo.com/news/gene-simmons-fires-back-ice-201630306.html
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KISS bassist and co-lead singer Gene Simmons is no stranger to controversial comments. He's gone off on everything from depression and suicide to women's role in society , and often had to apologize after the fact. Now, his latest target is hip-hop music. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone , Simmons went off on the entire genre. "I am looking forward to the death of rap," he said. "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."
After being given a chance to walk back on his statement, Simmons doubled down instead. "Rap will die," he predicted. "Next year, 10 years from now, at some point, and then something else will come along. And all that is good and healthy." When asked whether he likes the genre at all, he gave another tough answer. "I don't have the cultural background to appreciate being a gangster," he said. "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."
These comments, while sad, are hardly surprising. Back in 2014, Simmons expressed disappointment that hip-hop groups were being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "You've got Grandmaster Flash in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Run-D.M.C. in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? You're killing me," he told Radio.com at the time . "That doesn't mean those aren't good artists. But they don't play guitar. They sample and they talk. Not even sing."
"That doesn't mean those aren't good artists. But they don't play guitar. They sample and they talk. Not even sing."
I disagree. It does mean that they are not good artists. Ice-Cube is a fairly decent actor, but can't sing to save his life. Fortunately for him, he does hip-hop, so he doesn't have to know how to sing, which is good, because he can't. Even if there was a hip-hop hall of fame then he, Grandmaster Flash and Run-D.M.C wouldn't even be good enough at any part of performing, singing, poetry, dancing or even talking to be in it. And not a single one of them has the talent to be in the rock and roll HOF. None of them! In fact there is not a hip-hop artist, alive or dead, with enough talent to be in it, because hip-hop is NOT rock and roll, any more then Disco ever was and it never will be. Hip-hop is no more a part of rock and roll then the afterbirth is part of the baby!
There are a number of people in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame without somewhat mysterious rock and roll credentials. Bobby Darin, Miles Davis, Sam Cooke, Johnny Cash, Isaac Hayes, and others, but even so, I would agree with Simmons that rap is not rock and roll.
Johnny Cash, Sam Cooke, Bobby Darin and Issac Hayes all did rock and roll also. Mile Davis, not so much.
I agree with Simmons. Much like Disco, I can't wait until it dies off.
On the tv show The Voice, the judges each get to bring on board an iconic singer to assist them in coaching these incredibly talented singer contestants. This year, Pharrel Williams chose Sean Combs - aka Puff Daddy/P. Diddy. I thought that was pretty ridiculous, since that guy couldn't carry a tune to save his life. He just gave cliche advice and sounded like an idiot.
Hip-hop/Rap is not music. It's not even good poetry. It doesn't even qualify as an art form.
Hip-hop ahead of it time.
There's not a hip-hop singer alive who could sing that song. Come to think of it it'd take months to memorize it!