Chuck D Tells Gene Simmons KISS Has Rock But No Roll, Gives Him “Ghetto” Education

February 13, 2026

Chuck D responded to Gene Simmons’ latest comments about Hip-Hop not belonging in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during a TMZ interview.

Since 1998, AllHipHop.com has pioneered delivering Hip-Hop news. Get our daily email for exclusive, breaking news, and weekly digests, all curated for the true Hip-Hop enthusiast. Stay connected and informed with the heartbeat of Hip-Hop culture. Subscribe now!

Chuck D wasn’t having any of Gene Simmons’ latest rant about Hip-Hop not belonging in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Public Enemy frontman sat down with TMZ and delivered a masterclass response to the KISS bassist’s recurring complaints about rap artists getting inducted.

“Gene Simmons seems to say this every three years anyway,” Chuck D said during the interview. “And I guess when the latest group of Hip-Hop artists and rap music artists come in, you know, he’s going to issue his point.”

Simmons recently appeared on the LegendsNLeaders podcast, where he declared that “Hip-Hop does not belong in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, nor does opera, symphony orchestras … it’s called the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”

But Chuck D had the perfect comeback ready.

“I mean, he’s a rock god, you know, but what he fails to realize is that it’s the rock and roll hall of fame and everything else other than rock when rock and roll splintered in the 60s is the Roll” Chuck D explained. “And soul music, reggae, Hip-Hop, which is rap music.”

The legendary rapper broke down exactly why Simmons misses the point about the Hall’s purpose.

“So, it embodies, you know, sight, sound, story, and style, but music, the vocal on top of the music has already been determined. So that’s the Roll, that’s the flow, that’s the soul in it,” he continued.

Then came the knockout punch.

“Yeah, KISS are rock gods, but they don’t have a lot of Roll to them,” Chuck D said with a slight smile.

The 63-year-old Hip-Hop pioneer made it clear that being told he doesn’t belong somewhere isn’t exactly new territory for him.

“I’m black, born in 1960. Being told that I don’t belong doesn’t even phase me,” he stated matter-of-factly. “You know what I’m saying? I really relish the opportunity that I’m able to even be in the music business at all. And thank God for Hip-Hop and rap music making it possible.”

The conversation also touched on Simmons’ controversial comment about not coming “from the ghetto” and Hip-Hop not speaking his “language.”

“Ghetto don’t mean black. Ghettos, that came out of European term,” he explained, referring to the term’s historic origins in Italy, where Jewish people were forced to live.

Ironically, Simmons, whose real name is Chaim Witz, is Jewish.

“I mean, you know, a cluster of people who are kind of like the same tribe all in the same area,” Chuck D continued. “But you just got to have education so you won’t be rattled by things that just come out of left field.”

View Original Source