Lil Nas X never heard ‘Nevermind’ before accidental Nirvana sample
Lil Nas X has opened up about how he accidentally sampled Nirvana on a track in his latest EP and how Frances Bean Cobain ended up approving it.
The “Old Town Road” rapper spoke to SiriusXM about how the sample ended up on his song “Panini”.
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He said he was making the song and didn’t realize it sounded similar to “In Bloom” by Nirvana, but thinks he might have heard the song as a kid or something and it was “subconsciously planted into (his) brain.”
“I put the snippet out and everyone was like, ‘Wow, he’s sampling Nirvana.’ I was like, ‘Where? I’m not sampling Nirvana. This, the beat doesn’t have Nirvana in it’ and then I listened to ‘In Bloom’ in full and I was like ‘Oh OK,’” Lil Nas X said.
When asked if anyone from Nirvana reached out since he didn’t get the sample approved, he revealed that Frances Bean did and was very cool about it. Kurt Cobain is also a credited writer on the track.
“She’s the one who pretty much approved the song and she told me how much she loved the video for ‘Old Town Road’ and stuff,” he said. “We follow each other on Instagram. She’s cool.”
He then said something that honestly hurt us to hear — he revealed he had never previously heard the iconic album Nevermind by the band in-full before.
“It actually got me into the album for the first time. I had never heard ‘Nevermind,’” he said. Cue gasps.
You can see him explain the whole ordeal and also listen to “Panini” and “In Bloom” below.
.@LilNasX managed to interpolate a @Nirvana song on “Panini” even though he had never heard ‘Nevermind.’ ?Listen to the full interview on @siriusxmvolume: https://t.co/bwadzX8RUq pic.twitter.com/WJhYxfIkx2
— SiriusXM (@SIRIUSXM) September 3, 2019
More Nirvana news
The staff at a record store in Seattle found something unusual in a collection from the ‘90s — a royalty check issued to Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.
The check, which dates back to 1991, was found at Easy Street Records.
The check was made to Kurt D. Cobain of Olympia, Washington and was dated March 6 of that year, a few months prior to the band’s mega-success with Nevermind. It was from Broadcast Music Inc.
The store owner Matt Vaughan told NME that they found the check randomly included a collection of Nirvana tour itineraries. NME notes the check is probably worth $50 now due to inflation.
“We looked through them a little, but just put them in storage. Seemed like every band in Seattle had tour itinerary books … wasn’t uncommon to run across one.” he said.
Easy Street Records also took to Instagram to share a photo of the once-in-a-lifetime find.
“Royalty check found at Easy Street today. #kurtcobain@nirvana This is dated 03/06/91, 6 months before #nevermind would change the face of the planet. We’re guessing the next royalty checks were a bit larger than only…. $26.57,” the caption read. You can see it below.
What do you think about Lil Nas X sampling Nirvana without hearing Nevermind? Sound off in the comments down below!
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