Gene Simmons says rap will die, music shouldn’t be ‘just talking’

Rap music will die at some point, according to KISS bassist Gene Simmons. And that's a good thing, Simmons recently told Rolling Stone...

TheGrio Staff

Mar 18, 2016

Rap music will die at some point, according to KISS bassist Gene Simmons.

And that’s a good thing, Simmons recently told Rolling Stone.

Basically, Simmons is looking forward to hip-hop’s demise because he doesn’t consider rap songs to actually be songs.

“I’m looking forward to music coming back to lyrics and melody, instead of just talking,” he said. “A song, as far as I’m concerned, is by definition lyric and melody … or just melody.”

–Why African-Americans Are Ambivalent About Elvis–

Simmons didn’t stop there.

“Rap will die,” he added. “Next year, 10 years from now, at some point, and then something else will come along. And all that is good and healthy.”

–David Bowie Dies at 69, Changed the Very Meaning of Being a Rock Star–

Simmons isn’t hip-hop’s biggest fan. He’s previously questioned the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame credentials of legendary hip-hop acts such as Run-DMC and Grandmaster Flash.

“You’re killing me,” he told Radio.com in 2014. “That doesn’t mean those aren’t good artists. But they don’t play guitar. They sample and they talk. Not even sing.”

For what it’s worth, Simmons is an equal opportunity hater.

–Study: Rock Music Makes Whites Apathetic Towards Minorities–

The rock artist said that rock is also “dead” and that there were no new artists: “There ain’t no new bands. Foo Fighters, I love ’em, but they’re a 20-year-old band. These are long-in-the-tooth bands: Nirvana, Pearl Jam. They’re old bands.”