Lyrical Nirvana? Deconstructing Rap's Bizarre Kurt Cobain Obsession

Hip-hop loves to reference the infamous rock star. But what the hell are they saying?

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Rappers have a long and storied history of rhyming about things that they have very little personal knowledge of, the most obvious examples being selling drugs and murder. Not much further down the list you'll find "living like a rock star" and more specifically, Kurt Cobain. As one of the clearest examples in recent memory of the perils of the rock and roll lifestyle and leader of a band as complicated as it was jamming, it makes sense that rappers would call Cobain's name when they want to seem a little more worldly. But what exactly are they saying?

The Nirvana frontman tragically committed suicide 17 years ago today (April 5, 1994), and rappers are still regularly using Cobain's name in their lyrics whenever they want to reference suicide or drug addiction. But for all the talk of his substance abuse and untimely end, some of Cobain's hip-hop shout-outs have just been plain confusing. To celebrate one music's most misunderstood superstars, we try to deconstruct 10 of rap's oddest Kurt Cobain references...

Xzibit "Enemies & Friends" (1996)

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Cobain Quotable: "Xzibit easily dispersed like crack cocaine/See I lent my shotgun to Kurt Cobain/And the motherfucker never brought it back (Ah, that's wack)."

Complex Says: Obviously this song came out a long, long time ago, way back when Xzibit still cared about rapping (and was actually good at it). It's close proximity to Cobain's death however (he'd killed himself just two years prior) places it in really bad taste. Plus, it's just kind of corny.

Outsidaz "Sign Of The Power" (2001)

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Cobain Quotable: "Low budget hoes trynna knock ya game, like/Did Courtney Love kill Kurt Cobain, from close range/Turn his brain to shrimp lomaine?" (Young Zee)

Complex Says: The outspoken member of Outsidaz, a Jersey rap crew loosely affiliated with Eminem, had no problem fingering train wreck Courtney Love as Cobain's murderer. Though Cobain's suicide was hard to accept for many, we're pretty sure Young Zee just wanted to say something crazy.

King Gordy "Time To Die" (2003)

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Cobain Quotable: "What's coursing through my veins? Horrible, hurts the brain/Listen to Jimi Hendrix, worshiping Kurt Cobain/The ghetto Edgar Allan Poe."

Complex Says: Though Cobain was a poet in the truest sense, you can be sure this is the first and last time anyone ever called him the "ghetto Edgar Allen Poe." Unless, of course, Gordy is referring to himself as the "ghetto Edgar Allen Poe" in which case the line makes even less sense.

Juelz Santana "(Dipset) Santana's Town" (2003)

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Cobain Quotable: "And I'm big pimpin', stick dipin', quick shiftin'/Bitch listen, this isn't, no damn game in here/(Oww) Yeah, the whole Byrd Gang's in here/Like Kurt Cobain was here/Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!"

Complex Says: This catchy, enigmatic Cobain reference was mostly ignored due to both the song's mind-blowing awesomeness and Dipset critics being distracted by the "Choo-choo train, coo-ca mane" outlandishness.

DJ Kay Slay f/ Noreaga “I’ma Smack This Muthafucka” (2003)

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Cobain Quotable: “See niggas, they want my name next to Kurt Cobain/But I don’t sniff cocaine, I sniff propane.” (Noreaga)

Complex Says: First of all, the only name we want to see next to Noreaga's is Capone's. To the best of our knowledge, the only person who wants to see N.O.R.E.'s name next to Cobain's is...well, N.O.R.E. And FYI, heroin was Cobain's drug of choice, not cocaine.

R.A. the Rugged Man “Black and White” (2004)

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Cobain Quotable: “See the whites of their eyes, white skin, white lies/House of Pain white, Everlast, Kurt Cobain white/Elvis, simple and plain white, John Wayne white.”

Complex Says: This is definitely one of the lowlights of having a name that easily rhymes with a bunch of shit rappers like to talk about. It's possible that being able to rapidly name as many white people as you can at any given moment has some kind of advantage we're not aware of. But in this case, Kurt Cobain’s name is pretty much interchangeable with any Caucasian who ever lived.

K-Os “Commandante” (2004)

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Cobain Quotable: “Trained, raw, like Big Daddy Kane/Plus I’m born on the same day as Kurt Cobain.”

Complex Says: Here’s what we mean when we say rap has an obsession with Kurt Cobain. We're guessing K-Os just Googled February 20 and was gassed to find out him and Cobain share the same birthday. Why else would K-Os namedrop a dead rockstar with no meaningful context whatsoever? Do you think K-Os was nearly as excited to find out Stephon Marbury's birthday is also February 20?

Pastor Troy f/ Sky "Acid Rain (In Loving Memory of Kurt Cobain)" (2005)

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Cobain Quotable: "Maybe I'm crazy, addicted to pain/Maybe the cocaine destroyed my brain/Private conversations with Kurt Cobain/I'm drownin' my fears in the acid rain."

Complex Says: See Shop Boyz, Pastor Troy was rapping over stock guitar loops way before you made that terrible "Party Like A Rock Star" song. Where he lost us though, was claiming to communicate with Cobain.

Vinnie Paz f/ Apathy & Planetary “When You Need Me” (2006)

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Cobain Quotable: “My death wish is to die on the Soul Plane/Next to Chuck D., Coltrane, and Cobain.” (Planetary)

Complex Says: Wanting to have Coltrane, Chuck D, and Kurt Cobain in the same room is a dream we, as music lovers, share with Planetary. However, wishing this event would take place on the worst airline in the history of cinema is not something we share with him. Though we can't front, it would be kinda cool to meet Snoop Dogg.

Eminem “Untitled” (2010)

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Cobain Quotable: “Get your brains bashed in so bad/You gone have Kurt Cobain asking/To autograph a bloodstained napkin.”

Complex Says: For once, a rapper who namedropped Cobain was actually worthy of comparison to him. Like Cobain, Eminem struggled with drugs, was overwhelmed by his fame, and is considered one of the greatest artists of his generation. That's kinda why we were hoping he'd have something more insightful to say about his creative cousin because seriously, what is Em really saying with this line?

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