Kiss the band always existed as a commercial entity more than a musical one, and certainly more than a rock and roll one. Their music is simplicity itself; binary riffs and plodding drums; their lyrics hackneyed clichés to the end, an agglomerate compost of how it’s fun to party and how rock music is really great.

But what a gimmick, right? They wore crazy make-up, had shiny outfits (human, magpie, what’s the difference) and launched fireworks at their concerts. Fundamentally, bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons would, er, stick his tongue out a lot. And the merchandise! From checkers sets to caskets to condoms, and even a replica of Simmons' iconic tongue, KISS gladly put their name on anything that would make a quick buck.

It’s odd, then, that Simmons would question the authenticity of the seminal rap group N.W.A. Back in March, Simmons sounded off in an interview with Rolling Stone that he was “looking forward to the death of rap”. At NWA’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Ice Cube confirmed: “You’re goddamn right we’re rock n' roll!”, to which Simmons tweeted: “Respectfully– let me know when @JimiHendrix gets into the hip hop hall of fame. Then youll [sic] have a point. @icecube”.

And he’s exactly right. Rock and roll is about rebellion, storytelling, defying authority and creating something original from a limited palette. NWA does all of those things superbly; KISS doesn’t do them at all. The Complex / Yahoo Music coverage of the story doesn’t grasp this and instead argues that NWA should be included, because, hey, diversity. It cites Robert Johnson as an example of a Hall of Famer who isn’t a “purely ‘rock’ act” despite the fact that he invented rock as we know it:

NWA’s inclusion is not part of a charitable outreach of the Hall of Fame to other genres: they embody the spirit of rock and roll. The proof is in the lyrics. Let’s take one of the most famous NWA verses, and the chorus from KISS' biggest hit:

Uh, yeah…

Read Simmons' original interview annotated in Rolling Stone here, and the Yahoo News story here.