Rage Against The Machine‘s Tom Morello was one of the artists who publicly supported the induction of seminal gangsta rap group N.W.A. into the ‘Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame‘ earlier this year when Kiss‘ Gene Simmons came out against it. Morello‘s experiences as in pioneering rap/rock outfit Rage Against The Machine and his own role inducting Kiss into the ‘Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame‘ back in 2014 certainly gave him a personal stake in the matter. Speaking with Rollingstone.com, Morello said of the matter:
“He [Gene] actually reached out to me to ask my thoughts. I personally like the idea of rock and roll being a big tent. I think genre is basically meaningless and that people should just follow their muse. In the beginning of Rage Against The Machine there were hostile camps of hip hop and rock and punk, and never the ‘twain shall meet.”
He later continued:
“While N.W.A. may not be in line with the letter of rock and roll, they are certainly in line with the spirit of rock and roll. Much more so than many acts in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame who play guitars through Marshall amps. I think N.W.A. is rock & roll as fuck and deserves to be there.”
