Dragonforce’s Herman Li Thinks Rock Music Lost Popularity As Rappers Manipulated The Scene

Dragonforce guitarist Herman Li recently joined Fantano for an interview and argued that rock music is not that popular now because rappers know how to manipulate the music scene.

In 2014, Gene Simmons made a remark that stirred a debate. He claimed that rock music had finally died due to contemporary rock musicians because they didn’t represent rock music well enough like the successful representatives of the genre in the past.

After this, many rock icons and contemporary artists issued statements and claimed rock music could not be dead. However, some supported Simmons because new artists cannot find a place in a music industry dominated by streaming platforms.

In a recent interview with Fantano, Dragonforce’s Herman Li revealed his thoughts on why rock music isn’t at the forefront. According to the guitarist, mainstream rappers are intelligent due to how they release music and manipulate the music scene and streaming services.

Herman Li then said rock and heavy metal music don’t give importance to these aspects and don’t focus on creativity and being at the forefront of new technologies. So, it’s no surprise that rappers dominate the current scene.

During the conversation, Herman Li said the following:

“I think the rappers out there are so smart. How they release music, how they manipulate the scene, the digital assets, algorithm or Spotify, all this stuff. Rock music isn’t there, or heavy metal music, in terms of creativity and being in the forefront of the technology that’s happening.”

You can watch the rest of the interview below.