GENE SIMMONS defends his “I'm not from the ghetto” comment while saying rap doesn't belong in ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME
"I just wanna know when LED ZEPPELIN's gonna be in the Hip-Hop Hall Of Fame"
16-02-2026
KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has defended his use of the word “ghetto” while saying rap “does not belong” in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
During an appearance on the “Legends N Leaders” podcast posted to YouTube last week, Simmons said he respected rap artists who have been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame but he admitted that he didn’t personally connect with their music.
“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 (one of hip-hop’s original innovators) is,” Gene said.
“(Rapper) Ice Cube and I had a back-and-forth and he’s a bright guy and I respect what he’s done,” he continued. “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? ‘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.’ Okay, 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?
“Music has labels because it describes an approach,” Simmons explained. “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. With the genius of being able to put words and music and arrange it, it’s much more complex.”
On Wednesday (February 11), Simmons gave an exclusive statement to People magazine in which he didn’t back down from the use of the word “ghetto” while making his point. “I stand by my words,” he said. “Let’s cut to the chase. The word ‘ghetto’, it originated with Jews. It was borrowed by African Americans in particular and respectfully, not in a bad way.”
As to whether there was a racist undertone to his original comments, Simmons said: “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.”
In a six-minute video, KISS‘s Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons unbox the “Alive!” 50th-anniversary super deluxe box set, taking fans on a walk down memory lane on the making of the record that catapulted the band into worldwide success.
KISS‘s “Alive!” turns 50 in 2025 — a golden jubilee for the iconic live album that catapulted the band and revolutionized live albums for the music industry from end-of-career obscurity into career-defining mainstream success. Often revered as one of the greatest live albums ever by countless music journalists, “Alive!” is celebrated with a Super Deluxe 180-gram 8-LP + Blu-ray Audio boxset showcasing 120 total tracks amplified with 88 unreleased tracks. LPs 1 and 2 feature the original album newly remastered by Bernie Grundman from the original 1975 stereo analog master tapes. LPs 3 through 6 showcase two full-length concerts from the 1975 “Dressed To Kill” tour — RKO Orpheum Theatre in Davenport, Iowa on July 20, Second Show and Wildwood Convention Hall in Wildwood, New Jersey on July 23 — newly mixed by legendary producer and engineer Eddie Kramer from the original multi-track analog tapes as KISS performed in 1975, with no overdubs. Bonus tracks on LP 7 and 8 include five rehearsal tracks at the Davenport gig including an impromptu jam and an additional six songs from Cleveland Music Hall, Cleveland, Ohio on June 21, 1975, all newly mixed by Eddie Kramer from the original multi-tracks. The Blu-ray Audio disc features “Alive!” newly mixed by Eddie Kramer from the original album multi-track analog tapes in Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround along with the newly remastered stereo in 192kHz 24-bit and 96kHz 24-bit PCM stereo set to a brand-new visualizer featuring a treasure trove of unreleased live photos.
The Super Deluxe explodes further with an extensive array of bonus kollectibles including:
* 100-page hardcover book with extensive liner notes by Ken Sharp featuring new interviews from Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and many notable “Alive!”-era KISS team members plus tons of unreleased photos and rare imagery.
* “Alive!” 1975 press kit featuring
– Press Release
– Four Black & White Glossy Photos 7.5″x10″
– Marketing Slick Sheet
– “Alive!” Tour Program
– “Alive!” Back Cover Fan Banner Poster
– Album Cover Lenticular
– T-shirt Iron-on
– Four Live Color Glossy Photos
– Peter Criss Drum Head Litho
– Wildwood Concert Poster 20″x28″
– Cleveland Concert Mini-Poster 10″x17″
– Cobo Arena Concert Main Floor Ticket Stub
– Wildwood Concert Ticket Stub
– Cleveland Concert Ticket Stub
– Cobo Arena Concert Backstage Pass
– New Year’s Eve – Nassau Backstage Pass
– Four Double-Sided Coasters
– Four Guitar Picks
– Bumper Sticker 8″x2.5″
– “Alive!” Die-Cut Double-Sided Mobile
– Gotham Rock City News Volume 4 Newspaper – Track-by-Track interview with Eddie Kramer of nearly all tracks appearing on the collection
“Alive!” (Remastered)
LP One – Side A:
01. Deuce
02. Strutter
03. Got To Choose
04. Hotter Than Hell
05. Firehouse
LP One – Side B:
01. Nothin’ To Lose
02. C’mon And Love Me
03. Parasite
04. She
LP Two – Side C:
01. Watchin’ You
02. 100,000 Years
03. Black Diamond
LP Two – Side D:
01. Rock Bottom
02. Cold Gin
03. Rock And Roll All Nite
04. Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll
Live In Davenport, Iowa – RKO Orpheum Theatre – July 20, 1975 – Second Show*
LP Three – Side E:
01. Deuce
02. Strutter
03. Got To Choose
04. Hotter Than Hell
LP Three – Side F:
01. Firehouse
02. She
03. Ace Frehley Guitar Solo
04. Nothin’ To Lose
LP Four – Side G:
01. C’mon And Love Me
02. 100,000 Years
03. Peter Criss Drum Solo / 100,000 Years
LP Four – Side H:
01. Black Diamond
02. Cold Gin
03. Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll
Live In Wildwood, New Jersey – Wildwood Convention Hall – July 23, 1975*
LP Five – Side I:
01. Deuce
02. Strutter
03. Got To Choose
04. Hotter Than Hell
05. Firehouse
LP Five – Side J:
01. She
02. Ace Frehley Guitar Solo
03. Nothin’ To Lose
04. C’mon And Love Me
LP Six – Side K:
01. 100,000 Years
02. Peter Criss Drum Solo / 100,000 Years
03. Parasite
LP Six – Side L:
01. Black Diamond
02. Cold Gin
03. Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll
Bonus Live
Rehearsals – Live In Davenport, Iowa – RKO Orpheum Theatre – July 20, 1975*
LP Seven – Side M:
01. KISS Jam
02. Room Service
03. Strange Ways
04. Rock Bottom
05. Watchin’ You
Live In Cleveland, Ohio – Cleveland Music Hall – June 21, 1975*
LP Seven – Side N:
01. She
02. Ace Frehley Guitar Solo
03. Nothin’ To Lose
LP Eight – Side O:
01. C’mon And Love Me
02. 100,000 Years
03. Peter Criss Drum Solo / 100,000 Years
Blu-ray Audio – Alive!
Disc Five:
[Dolby Atmos* / Dolby True HD 5.1* / 192kHz 24-bit & 96kHz 24-bit PCM Stereo]
01. Deuce
02. Strutter
03. Got To Choose
04. Hotter Than Hell
05. Firehouse
06. Nothin’ To Lose
07. C’mon And Love Me
08. Parasite
09. She
10. Watchin’ You
11. 100,000 Years
12. Black Diamond
13. Rock Bottom
14. Cold Gin
15. Rock And Roll All Nite
16. Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll
* Previously unreleased
