Gene Simmons Looks Forward to Rap’s Death

No one will mistake Gene Simmons for a hip-hop fan. The KISS singer spoke to Rolling Stone and criticized rap, saying that he's looking forward to its death.

"I am looking forward to the death of rap," Simmons told Rolling Stone. "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."

When asked about his dislike of rap, Gene Simmons claimed he didn't have the background to enjoy it.

"I don't have the cultural background to appreciate being a gangster," Simmons 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."

The KISS singer did not let up as he asserted that rap will die soon. The reality television star estimates that rap will only last for 10 more years.

"Rap will die," Simmons said.. "Next year, 10 years from now, at some point, and then something else will come along. And all that is good and healthy."

This is not the first time that Gene Simmons has criticized hip-hop. He previously spoke out against the inductions of Run-DMC and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"A few people decide what's in and what's not," he told Radio.com in 2014. "And the masses just scratch their heads. You've got Grandmaster Flash in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Run-DMC 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."

Expect Gene Simmons to remain disappointed as hip-hop continues to press on just as it has done for the past 40 plus years.

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