The whole point behind any good shock-rocker is to give people something to be scared of. Alice Cooper didn’t sign up for the rock and roll business to look like a clean-living guy every night, but even the more reprehensible shock rockers knew when the whole thing was an act and when people needed to be sane about a situation. But when looking at Marilyn Manson’s career, it’s shocking that anyone could have that little wiggle room between playing a misanthropic Satanist and actually being one.

Although there has always been a certain method behind Manson’s insane industrial-rock theatrics that was reminiscent of David Bowie’s more extravagant works, there’s a reason why ‘The Starman’ chose Trent Reznor to work with instead. Many of the cases that have been levelled against him regarding his mistreatment of women would be one thing, but his allegiance to other controversial figures nowadays like Kanye West aren’t exactly doing him any favours, either.

There’s a right way to shock people and leave everyone with a disturbing feeling in the pit of their stomach, but compared to every other Gene Simmons that has walked the Earth, all Manson does is make people reach to file restraining orders. Because of all the hell that he has raised over the years, there’s only so many times someone can scream about their problems before they start realising the harsh reality they are bringing upon the world.

Considering how much of a clubbing he received in 2024, it’s incredible that someone like Drake is being taken seriously again. He’s certainly not the most skilled MC in the world by any stretch, but it takes a superhuman level of endurance to lose so badly in a rap battle against Kendrick Lamar and still have the kind of clout to not fade into the distance. Even if some casual hip-hop fans are clinging to him, Mr Graham has more than Lamar’s allegations to worry about regarding his place in the world.

Because out of all the issues that ‘K Dot’ hurled at Drake during this beef, the one that stuck the most was his ability to latch onto whomever he wants to and find some way to copy their style. Everyone who’s heard ‘Not Like Us’ remembers that list of names that were listed off that Drake had collaborated with, and going through all of them, it’s easy to see Drake switching up his style to serve up whatever kind of music will get him back on the top of the charts, even if it means watering it down to the lowest common denominator.

The accents were already a bit of a stretch for many people, but the biggest crime that Drake commits when he pulls that move is ensuring he has a foot in every popular genre known to man. It might seem like nothing bad is happening, but given every accent he has and whatever music he’s pulling from, he’s not only appropriating that style of music. He’s actively making that music worse by convincing people he represents it well.

Aaron Lewis

It’s impossible for someone not to talk about their politics in their music every now and again. For everyone who gets upset whenever Lil Wayne gets photographed with Donald Trump or Bruce Springsteen takes the stage to speak out against the President, they are all using their platform in a way that they see fit. Anyone can use their place in the world to help make it a better place, but looking at Aaron Lewis, he seems only to want to make the world go back to the way things were when he was a kid.

If you’ve listened to Staind, though, that’s not exactly a compliment, either. Lewis has made it no secret that he didn’t have the best time growing up, but listening to what he spoke out against in his later country material, he seems to be looking back to go back to the days where people were completely fine with being politically incorrect and that he should be justified in being a blind patriot to everything that America is supposed to be.

And coupled with the fact that he looks like he would rather be anywhere else than onstage performing half the time, it’s not exactly a shock that even fans are having a problem with him at this point. Any band can have a few songs that rub people the wrong way, but even if you disagree with Rage Against the Machine, you have to admit the riffs are fantastic. With Lewis, he’s practically giving people whining anthems and trying to convince everyone that it’s what “real” music sounds like.

The R&B scene is no stranger to artists that like to be a little bit seductive every now and then. The term ‘baby-making music’ could practically be trademarked by Marvin Gaye at this point, considering all of the great slowburns that he has written over the years, but there’s always a line when it comes to sexy music. Some people like to draw that line when they start feeling uncomfortable, but if you’re within the general vicinity of R Kelly, you might want to think about speeding up your pace, especially if you have a younger sister next to you.

Although there’s no discounting the musical talent that he had on a few of his songs, his multiple counts of sexual assaults shows that he took some parts of his tunes a little too seriously. And looking at the details of the Surviving R Kelly documentary, every one of his victims could justifiably deserve a medal of honour for having to go through all the heinous activities that he indulged in during his prime, all while with mostly underage girls as well.

And the worst part is the reach that Kelly had during that time. He had his hands on many different pieces of the music industry and his collaborations became iconic in their own right, but now whenever listening to a song like ‘You Are Not Alone’ by Michael Jackson or are reminded of his multiple collaborations with Jay-Z, you start to get a little uncomfortable nowadays.

Ike Turner

The dawn of rock and roll was never meant to be the most wholesome era for rock and roll music. Although many people like to chalk it up to more “innocent” times when talking about the biggest controversies in music, that theory doesn’t hold any water when you look at the era that casually sidelined any LGBT celebrity, constantly talked up machismo, and had female survivors talk about the horrors they had to endure. The correct word was probably living in more “ignorant” times, and we didn’t realise how horrible it became when Ike Turner left the stage every night.

He and Tina Turner seemed like the perfect rock and roll couple whenever they went onstage, but the amount of heinous sexual torture that Tina had to go through is something no one should wish on their worst enemy. Even when he wasn’t working on a song, Ike could find more new and interesting ways to be an asshole, like insisting that he earn more money when the Ikettes featured on a Frank Zappa album, despite him not even appearing on the track.

And while it’s nice for everyone to have fond memories of songs like ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘River Deep Mountain High’, it’s better to divert all the attention to what Tina brought to the table. Ike may have helped sculpt some of those brilliant songs back then, but there’s no reason to give this monster any more attention. Because when listening to ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’, it felt like Tina did not have to deal with him anymore.

Phil Spector

The producer role is always the silent genius behind the greatest artists ever. There will always be a question mark next to how many things George Martin did behind the scenes with The Beatles, and who knows how some of the most celebrated albums of the 1980s would have sounded had Mutt Lange not added his signature touch. While Phil Spector could join the company of those esteemed producers most of the time, his habits outside (and occasionally inside) the studio aren’t enough to get him in the public’s good graces.

Despite building up the massive ‘Wall of Sound’ production, Spector was notoriously difficult to work with and more than a little bit violent towards those who didn’t take kindly to his practices. Even if we ignore the murder that he committed, it’s enough listening to the horror stories from those he worked with, whether that was firing a gun in the middle of a John Lennon studio session or pulling a gun on Ramones as they were halfway through making End of the Century.

The classics certainly speak for themselves, but looking at his love for reverb, one of the biggest crimes that Spector ever pulled was weighing down so many musicians by letting his ego get in the way. There are countless artists who want their specific instrument turned up in the mix, but in Spector’s case, he was willing to pay for his time on the record in blood if he needed to.

Kid Rock is no real stranger to controversy over the years. From his high-profile relationships with people like Pamela Anderson to eventually spinning his career into being a political cheerleader for the Trump administration, there’s a lot that can be thrown at the guy that is divisive. But for those willing to give him a chance and look past all of the extracurriculars, the sad fact is that the music has little to no substance behind it.

In all fairness, an album like Devil Without A Cause had at least an audience back in the day. Most angry middle schoolers were already talking about potentially mixing genres like nu-metal, and while Rock’s brand of Southern-fried music fit right in, it was something that was only going to get worse over time. Because outside of his hits, has anyone bothered to look at some of the lyrics here?

While Gene Simmons has been one of the kings of smut lyrics, there are a handful of moments on Rock’s that would get most people arrested if they said it outside of a song, including such clever bars that claim that sleeping with underage girls is “mandatory”. Every one of Rock’s fans might only hope to grow old and still be kicking ass like he is, but if there’s anyone who cut from this cloth in real life, it might be a good idea not to let them anywhere near your daughter.

Ian Watkins

The issue of legitimate predators in rock and roll is all too glossed over in rock history. As much as Led Zeppelin might be considered gods among men to many people, it’s important to realise how disgusting some of their offstage behaviour was when it came to their groupies. But even in a world where we have tolerance for some of the gross things that Zeppelin did, Ian Watkins is one of the most heinous human beings ever to be given a musical spotlight.

Granted, it’s not like Lostprophets were the most high-profile rock band. They had a following and were certainly gaining traction throughout the 2000s, but as soon as allegations and evidence started coming out about Watkins’s sexual assault of multiple underage fans, it got horrid really fast. Most of the stuff is incredibly vile, so instead of giving you, dear viewers, an extremely bad day, one should only look at the allegations levelled against him on your own time to see what kind of a monster he was.

And given all of the evidence that came out during that time, the fact that he seemed completely aware of what he was doing and seemingly had no remorse over the whole ordeal at times makes it all the more gross. There are many artists who don’t deserve the spotlight, but this might be the one exception where a musician should stand as a shining example of what a musical monster looks like.

The Diddy trial has since concluded, but there are still multiple aspects of the rap mogul’s career that we are not aware of. Even though he has been dropped of several charges in a court of law, many people will look at any artist very differently if they choose to work with him again. But whether you know him as Diddy, Puff, or Sean Combs, it’s easy to see that he wasn’t all that special even when he got behind the studio glass.

While it’s easy to see someone play devil’s advocate towards everyone from John Lennon to Michael Jackson when they say or do problematic things, Diddy was harder to defend given his track record. Although he had a lot of connections in the industry, hearing him try his hand at rapping on songs like ‘I’ll Be Missing You’ is subpar even compared to some of the traditional pop rappers of the time.

He may have shifted towards being more of a businessman than a hip-hop star in the last few years of his career before everything came to a head, but given his collaborations with everyone on his records, there’s probably a good reason why he latched himself onto Biggie Smalls for so long. There were many signs of Diddy’s strange personality before the shit hit the fan, but it’s insane to think that news of him not being as talented as he thought he was was a massive revelation by any stretch.

Ted Nugent

The entire 1970s seemed like the Wild West for rock and roll music. Although many people like to remember the eras of glam rock or disco when they reminisce, there were also a lot of middle-of-the-road rock bands that only proved to be decent for a few songs before slowly fading from view. But while it was easy to ignore a band like Grand Funk Railroad if you didn’t like them very much, Ted Nugent almost seemed to take pleasure in reminding everyone of his lifestyle.

First of all, there’s nothing wrong with someone trying to depict themselves as a musical version of Tarzan whenever they were onstage, but that ‘wild man’ persona was a bit more real than people were led to believe. As opposed to the other drug-related “demons” that afflicted most rock stars, Nugent’s vice was always sex, which ended up getting more unhinged until he ultimately legally adopted an underage girl so he could go out with her.

It’s easy to have fond memories of a song like ‘Stranglehold’ from ‘Uncle Ted’s glory years, but as time ticks on and people see him for who he is, it’s scary to think that he might still have a platform in this day and age. He may have made some truly great guitar licks, but the amount of baggage can only pile up so much before people start asking questions.