What's up with MCs doing shout-outs to Kurt Cobain?

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Well, less what's up with them doing shout-outs to Kurt and more what's up with doing that but not doing shout-outs to almost any other rock musicians? (Well, except maybe for Ozzy.) 50 Cent, Kool Keith, Juelz Santana...uh, ICP...

Are they just using him as shorthand for fame like they use Bentleys etc. as shorthand for wealth? Or is there some other connection? I.e. is it Cobain as celebrity/legend or Cobain as musician? And why not anyone else?

Or is it just that I'm a child of the 90s and so particularly notice when they mention Cobain?

― Eppy (Eppy), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 15:18 (nineteen years ago)

He was the first true rock icon to come along since rap got big enough to notice ICONS, I guess. I don't remember any 84-90 rock icons they're neglecting. Some guy from Motley Crue, perhaps.

― A Viking of Some Note (Andrew Thames), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 15:22 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&hs=MrE&lr=&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&q=+site:www.ohhla.com+cobain+ohhla

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 15:33 (nineteen years ago)

"Big shout out to Jarvis Cocker!"

(I can't see it somehow)

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 15:34 (nineteen years ago)

cos Kurt, at least in one way, was socially concious and pissed, and most importantly, an american product. there were a couple of years where you couldn't avoid nirvana.

the shout outs, where they aren't just looking for a rhyme, id imagine deal with the pissed off crazed rocker dude who just couldn't take it anymore. which both is and isn't kurt.

― JD from CDepot, Wednesday, 14 September 2005 15:49 (nineteen years ago)

Ice Cube may have been the first "Now I'm suicidal, just like Nirvana"

― Mark (MarkR), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 15:51 (nineteen years ago)

there's even a rap producer named Kurt Kobane, or some variation of that

― richard wood johnson, Wednesday, 14 September 2005 15:55 (nineteen years ago)

from a track by U-God of his Hillside Scramblers album:

Call me Kurt Cobain, baptized in the flame
Capsized in the game, nigga, say the name

― richard wood johnson, Wednesday, 14 September 2005 15:58 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.sonicinfusion.co.uk/images/4581f.jpg

http://www.sonicyouth.com/videos/hires/koolthing.html

― ~~~~ DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE ~~~~ (ex machina), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:00 (nineteen years ago)

There's been a lot of Metallica references, haven't there?

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:00 (nineteen years ago)

1. Know your audience (suburban white kids)
2. Pretend to share a link with other artists suburban white kids supposedly love (Nirvana)
3. ???
4. Profit

― Cunga (Cunga), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:08 (nineteen years ago)

I'm simultaneously less and more cynical: I think it's just the easy alliteration, the "bam ba-lam" meter of the name, and the "ayne" rhyme.

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:12 (nineteen years ago)

x-post

well, "cobain" also rhymes with "insane" and "cocaine"

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:12 (nineteen years ago)

hehe...silly underpants gnomes

― Christopher Costello (CGC), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:15 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah clearly mentioning "Kurt Cobain" is in the interest of

fuck it i'm not even gonna finish being sarcastic

― deej.., Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:23 (nineteen years ago)

latebloomer otm

― ~~~~ DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE ~~~~ (ex machina), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:26 (nineteen years ago)

But it's not like "Eddie Vedder" doesn't fit all those criteria too, except for the dead part.

― Eppy (Eppy), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:30 (nineteen years ago)

except for the dead part.

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:34 (nineteen years ago)

just let it be known i think cunga's nuts.

― deej.., Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:34 (nineteen years ago)

Funkdoobiest mentioned Nirvana and Metallica in the same song back in about 1990 or so. My favorite rap-to-rock shout-out was on the second House of Pain album, though, where Everlast rapped "Like GG Allin I'm crazy ill."

― pdf (Phil Freeman), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:37 (nineteen years ago)

alliteration, strong last vowel

― Old School (sexyDancer), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:45 (nineteen years ago)

Everlast also amazed the world with "I can feel it in the air tonight/ But I'm not Phil Collins, I'm more like Henry Rollins".

ILM really does need a "worst Everlast lyrics" thread.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:49 (nineteen years ago)

well, "cobain" also rhymes with "insane" and "cocaine"

Everybody now,....

::adopt silly nasal voice::
"COBAIN IN THE MEMBRAIN..."

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 17:20 (nineteen years ago)

Hip-Hop in rockism non-shocka.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 17:27 (nineteen years ago)

the real question is why was the bike messenger dude who just rode the elevator with me singing "sussudio?"

oh rght, because he wants to.

― hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 18:16 (nineteen years ago)

big pun "sometimes when I'm rhyming I blow my own mind like Nirvana"

― Sym Sym (sym), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 18:41 (nineteen years ago)

I think it's mainly the suicide. Namedropping Kurt's pretty convenient for expressing a death wish.

― Sym Sym (sym), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 18:44 (nineteen years ago)

Because nothing rhymes with Novoselic.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 18:57 (nineteen years ago)

Guns N' Roses recieve a decent amount of shoutouts.

― billstevejim (billstevejim), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 20:38 (nineteen years ago)

I walk around with the motherfuckin trey-pound
Just for my enemies so I can blow they chest in
Cause Smith and Wesson'll have your whole family stressin
Another basket, casket closin
They put away the Guns, then here come the motherfuckin Roses

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 20:39 (nineteen years ago)

cos Cobain rhymes with cocaine

― (\/)ï¿½ï¿½kï¿½ï¿½ \ï¿½/ï£šï¿½ï¿½ (mookie wilson), Thursday, 15 September 2005 18:13 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah clearly mentioning "Kurt Cobain" is in the interest of

fuck it i'm not even gonna finish being sarcastic

-- deej.. (wel...), September 15th, 2005 5:23 AM. (link) (userip

Hahahaha, otm

― A Viking of Some Note (Andrew Thames), Thursday, 15 September 2005 18:23 (nineteen years ago)

My favorite Neptunes track ("Am I High") has that Clipse guest verse with "Keep em high like Kurt Cobain."

Also Biggie's "more guns than roses" in "Flava In Ya Ear," as well as Jay-Z's "Guns & Roses."

― billstevejim (billstevejim), Friday, 16 September 2005 02:10 (nineteen years ago)

Cuz Cobaine was both huge & dead-ended.

― Bobby Peru (Bobby Peru), Friday, 16 September 2005 03:46 (nineteen years ago)

After the Ice Cube ref, the first one I recall is from House of Pain: "So don't blow out your brain like Kurt Cobain/And maybe one day you'll be a star."

Also, he's the rock Tupac.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Friday, 16 September 2005 05:37 (nineteen years ago)

x-post
Alex NYC: Man, Cobain in the Membrane sounds like a Freelance Hellraiser mash-up waiting to happen.

― js (honestengine), Friday, 16 September 2005 06:39 (nineteen years ago)

six months pass...

"Six Degrees of Kurt Cobain" by MC Lars

Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_referencing_Kurt_Cobain

― James Mitchell (James Mitchell), Saturday, 8 April 2006 10:36 (nineteen years ago)

Funkdoobiest mentioned Nirvana and Metallica in the same song back in about 1990 or so.

A year before Nevermind came out?!

I'm more into the "Scentless Apprentice" sample on the Roosevelt Franklin album.

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Saturday, 8 April 2006 12:16 (nineteen years ago)

Also, he's the rock Tupac.

-- Matos-Webster Dictionary (michaelangelomato...), September 15th, 2005.

Isn't it more like Tupac is the rap Cobain?? Kurt died first didn't he?

― xgurggleglgllg (xgurggleglgllg), Saturday, 8 April 2006 21:19 (nineteen years ago)

A lot more than them dying makes it OTM, gurgle

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Sunday, 9 April 2006 06:46 (nineteen years ago)

Because nothing rhymes with Novoselic.
-- Huk-L (handsomishbo...), September 14th, 2005.

What about Funkadelic? that does...

― ant, Sunday, 9 April 2006 10:59 (nineteen years ago)

scold on em when I scroll on em
the best writer since Hov' on em
now that's Nirvana Dave Grohl on em
- Clipse, Run this Shit

we're turning the corner, people.

― tremendoid (tremendoid), Monday, 10 April 2006 23:33 (nineteen years ago)

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