Ice Cube on Gene Simmons: 'He's an OG, But Wrong' About Rock Hall

Ice Cube responded to Gene Simmons' latest comments about the inclusion of N.W.A and other hip-hop artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show Tuesday, saying, "Everybody's got their own opinions and Gene, he's an OG in the game, but he's just wrong on this."

While Simmons has staked his position on strict genre terms, Cube continued to talk about rock & roll as a more ineffable thing, telling Stern, "It's a spirit, and it's been going on before they called it rock & roll."

Though the feud remains friendly, Stern did coax Ice Cube into saying he might be able to overcome Simmons' height advantage in actual fist fight with a "Tyson inside game." But the rapper said he also understood where Simmons was coming from to a certain extent. 

"I hate it when hip-hoppers, some of them go to the band," he said. "I'm a turntable guy, like old-school Run-D.M.C. dudes. So I be having my feelings some times. But ultimately: We in baby!"

While Simmons has been making his feelings about hip-hop's place in the Hall well known since Kiss was inducted in 2014, his spat with N.W.A began during the group's induction speech when MC Ren called him out for eagerly anticipating rap's demise in an interview with Rolling Stone. Ice Cube also detailed his all-inclusive view of rock during N.W.A's acceptance, leading Simmons to ultimately respond on Twitter.

The two have since gone back-and-forth on the platform, with Simmons arguing that when famous rock acts are inducted into a hip-hop hall of fame, the argument for hip-hop in the Rock Hall will make sense. The MC replied, "Who stole the soul? Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Chubby Checker help invent rock & roll. We invent it. Y'all reprint it."

In his interview with Stern, Ice Cube also echoed some of Steve Miller's complaints about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, specifically exorbitant ticket prices for family and friends of inductees and the little support given to artists hoping to perform at the event.

"I think they're just throwing groups out there, and you gotta kind of put your own production together," Ice Cube said. "We didn't really get that far into it once we realized that we damn near had to pay for everything." He added, "A lot of those groups, they still perform, but people probably haven't seen them in years. They get this chance to really come back and show what they got, and you've gotta almost piece together a performance."

Watch N.W.A’s induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J from RollingStone.com: Music http://ift.tt/1MsjGZ1
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