Bruce Willis’s Surprising Musical Grudge: The Genre He Couldn’t Bear
Bruce Willis, famed for his Motown albums, once openly declared his aversion to rap music. His strong feelings were revealed in anecdotes from Yo! MTV Raps hosts, shedding light on his views about hip-hop.
Few celebrity ventures into music have been as peculiar as Bruce Willis’s foray into the recording industry. The star, best known for his action roles, managed to release not one but two albums under the Motown label. The first, The Return of Bruno, was tied to an HBO mockumentary and saw Willis adopt the persona of Bruno Radolini. Despite its lukewarm reception, the album achieved gold status in the United States, with notable musicians such as Booker T Jones, the Temptations, and the Pointer Sisters lending their talents. It was an odd chapter in his career, and after his second album, If It Don’t Kill You, It Just Makes You Stronger, appeared in 1989, Willis quietly stepped away from the studio for good.
Willis’s Musical Preferences and On-Screen Irony
The style of music Willis chose to record offers a glimpse into his personal tastes. His fondness for blues, soul, and rock was evident, and it turns out there was one genre he simply could not abide. In the film The Last Boy Scout, Willis’s character, Joe Hallenbeck, finds himself in a tight spot, threatened with torture. When his captors suggest they want to hear him scream, he quips that there’s a far easier way:
“Play some rap music.”
The line, tossed off in a moment of dark humour, was not far from the truth.
Behind the Scenes: Willis’s Disdain for Rap
It’s perhaps not shocking that someone with a penchant for classic genres might not be keen on hip-hop, but Willis’s dislike was particularly pronounced. According to Naked Under Our Clothes, a book by the former hosts of Yo! MTV Raps, Ed Lover and Doctor Dré, Willis made no effort to conceal his feelings. Ed Lover recounted an encounter with the actor, saying,
“I did one thing with Bruce Willis. I had heard he didn’t want to work with me because I was hosting Yo! MTV Raps. We were all right because we both understood each other. I did something with him for Planet Hollywood. I was interviewing him, and I said, ‘I heard you hate rap music’. He said, ‘Yeah, I can’t stand it.’”
Not missing a beat, Lover replied,
“Well, I hate that harmonica bullshit you be playing, too. So now we understand each other, so let’s get the interview going on.”
The exchange, which took place in the early 1990s, ended amicably enough, with both parties moving on to the business at hand.
Changing Times or Unchanged Opinions?
Given the timing—around the launch of the first Planet Hollywood restaurants—it’s possible that Willis’s views might have shifted over the years. However, considering his emphatic statement, it seems unlikely he ever warmed to hip-hop. His brief but memorable stint in music, and his candid remarks, have left a curious footnote in the story of a man better known for his exploits on screen than in the recording booth.