HILLARY: The late Nirvana frontman, Kurt Cobain, is one of America’s biggest musical icons.
His band redefined rock music in the ‘90s, pushing out hair metal with their stripped
down alternative sound that would come to be called grunge.
And today, the band’s influence continues to make an impact on hip-hop.
KURT: I know that I'm too stubborn to allow myself to ever compromise our music or get so wrapped up
or so involved that it's gonna turn us into big rock stars.
From their hooks to their lyrics, Nirvana’s sound even trickles down to new artists like
chart-topping “Old Town Road” rapper Lil Nas X.
He interpolates Nirvana’s “In Bloom” on his recent track “Panini.”
LIL NAS X: The crazy thing about "Panini" is that it introduced me to Nirvana's album.
People was like, Wow he sampled Nirvana? I was like No? But I didn't realize I was using the same melody.
HILLARY: In an interview with Genius, Take A Daytrip, the production duo
behind "Panini," explained how the Seattle band inspired the song and helped spark their
friendship.
Nirvana was also one of our biggest inspirations and something that first brought us together
when we were just getting to know each other and trying to create together.
HILLARY: Though Kurt and his crew built their brand on being outcasts, beefing with then-huge
acts like Guns & Roses, hip-hop forefathers like Dr. Dre, who released his 1992 debut
‘The Chronic’ during grunge’s heyday, thought they were amazing.
DRE: Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, that's my favorite rock group of all time.
HILLARY: And groups like Onyx created one of hip-hop’s biggest anthems thanks to inspiration
from Nirvana in 1993.
FREDO STARR: Watching the Nirvana video, "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
That shit was popping in the hood.
We watching that shit and I’m like, ‘Yo, what if we brought this energy to hip-hop?’
A few decades later, Jay-Z interpolated the classic chorus of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
in a duet with Justin Timberlake called “Holy Grail.”
HILLARY: Lil Peep is another rapper who, like Cobain, often addressed depression, anxiety
and not fitting in his lyrics.
His style of emo rap was tinged with guitar riffs and an alt rock sound, leading the New
York Times to call him the Kurt Cobain of lo-fi rap.
In 2017, Peep died at the age of 21 from an accidental drug overdose.
The year before, he named a track after Cobain.
HILLARY: Like Peep, XXXTENTACION is regarded as one of the pioneers of emo rap and cited Kurt Cobain
as his biggest musical inspiration.
DJ Akademiks: Is there any other artist who you’ve seen them have that connection
with their fans?
X: Kurt Cobain and only Kurt Cobain.
HILLARY: Known for his lo-fi DIY aesthetic, X regularly drew from genres outside of hip-hop
like alternative rock, metal, and punk.
And while awaiting trial on multiple felony charges, including battery and aggravated
assault of a pregnant victim, X was shot fatally at the age of 20 in 2018.
Before his passing, he teased an unreleased track called “Ugly” which seems to sample
Nirvana’s “Something In The Way.”
HILLARY: Kid Cudi is also one of rap’s biggest Nirvana fans.
Known for his similarly dark and introspective music, the lonely stoner long looked up to
Cobain as another successful musician who fought with depression.
KID CUDI: I definitely think Nirvana has a big influence on my music, trying new things,
pushing the envelope, pushing boundaries.
Kurt has always been an inspiration with all that. It's like the world gets to see what it would sound like
if he were around today and I try to use him as my muse whenever I can.
HILLARY: He prominently sampled the guitar riff from Cobain’s “Burn The Rain” on
“Cudi Montage.”
The title was inspired by the posthumous Cobain album 'Montage of Heck' where the sample
track comes from.
And it seems Cudi got the sample clearance thanks to a blessing from Cobain’s widow
and daughter.
CUDI: It was kinda crazy cause I didn’t know if we were gonna get it cleared.
And Courtney and I believe Francis had something to do with it too.
So thank you Francis and Courtney.
HILLARY: Cudi even paid respect to Cobain during a visit to Seattle’s Viretta Park
near Cobain’s old house.
He wrote on one of the park benches as many fans do to pay tribute to the music icon.
HILLARY: Travis Scott is a disciple of both Cudi and Cobain because neither allow themselves
to be put in a box, musically or otherwise.
To you, Kurt Cobain could have been a hip-hop artist?
Yeah.
HILLARY: But rapping wasn’t the Nirvana frontman’s thing, once saying quote:
HILLARY: In his 2018 interview for Genius’s Verified, Denzel Curry also talked about “Clout Cobain"
being a dedication to the rockstar and the personal meaning of Nirvana’s second album.
DENZEL CURRY: I like ‘Nevermind.’ [It's] my favorite album by Nirvana.
When we got done with the song, they was like, ‘What you want to name it?’
I was like, ‘I’m not gonna name it Kurt Cobain, let's name it "Clout Cobain."
HILLARY: The “Clout Cobain” music video’s raging crowd mirrors the classic video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
while Denzel's outfit references an iconic Cobain fit.
HILLARY: Post Malone has Kurt’s face as a tattoo and sometimes covers Nirvana songs
at his concerts.
Most recently, he references the icon in the very first line of his latest hit, “Goodbyes.”
Over the years, countless other rappers have namedropped Nirvana and Cobain in their lyrics.
HILLARY: But more often than not, these lines reference Cobain’s 1994 death at the age
of 27 which police concluded to be from a self-inflicted shotgun wound to his head.
Sometimes Cobain’s struggle is used to parallel an artist’s own tussle with suicide or depression.
Other times lyricists are aiming for shock value.
HILLARY: Many times, these shallow references overshadow Kurt’s actual career and musical
impact -- as Denzel explains.
DENZEL: And everyone look up to Kurt Cobain for the wrong reasons.
He’s legend for what he did and Nirvana and everything, but just the whole thing about
his depression and suicide, and stuff like that, it was almost glorified.
'Nevermind'...that album was very impactful for its time.
HILLARY: Kurt was a vocal feminist, as well as being anti-racist and anti-homophobic,
once declaring, in the band’s 1992 ‘Incesticide’ compilation album liner notes, quote:
HILLARY: Other artists use Kurt’s story to describe how the music industry and fame
can drive one to depression and suicide-- which he addressed in his suicide note, writing quote:
HILLARY: Kurt Cobain is an incredible example of how one artist's music and legacy can have
a huge footprint in all genres of music and culture beyond themselves.
And Kurt is still making headlines. Snoop Dogg recently posted a throwback picture that went viral of the pair
smoking a blunt. Without realizing it was actually Photoshopped.
Ultimately, many hip-hop nods to Nirvana and Kurt will continue to lead new fans to discover their music.
I'm Hillary with Genius News bringing you the meaning and the knowledge behind the music.