“In general, rap can push the wrong buttons with me, primarily because of the association and the suggestion of a certain value of women,” he tells HuffingtonPost.com. “That’s my biggest issue with rap. There’s a kind of diminishing of self-esteem involved in embracing some of it. Not all of it, some of it.”

Bolton has admirers in the hip-hop world, including Kanye West and Jay-Z, who sampled a Bolton song for “Never Let Me Down.”

He admits that he first had to ask his daughters who West was, but is now a fan.