Jay-Z Praises Kurt Cobain And Nirvana: "They Stopped Hip-Hop For A While"
9 October 2012, 11:09 | Updated: 9 October 2012, 11:14
The '99 Problems' rapper admits the cultural importance of the grunge scenes haltered the "force" of other genres.
Jay-Z has admitted that hip-hop music was forced to "wait a while" as bands such as Nirvana dominated the airwaves in the early nineties.
The 'Girls Girls Girls' star opens up to Pharrell Williams in new book, Pharrell: The Places and Spaces I've Been, where he highlights the cultural impact and importance of Kurt Cobain.
He is quoted as saying: "First we got to go back to before grunge and why grunge happened. 'Hair bands' dominated the airwaves and rock became more about looks than about actual substance and what it stood for—the rebellious spirit of youth….That's why 'Teen Spirit' rang so loud because it was right on point with how everyone felt, you know what I'm saying?'
Jay recently helped launch the Made In America festival last month in Philadelphia, which saw grunge pioneers Pearl Jam performing.
"I have always been a person who was curious about the music and when those forces come on the scene, they are inescapable," he added. "Can't take your eyes off them, can't stop listening to them. [Cobain] was one of those figures.
"I knew we had to wait for a second before we became that dominant force in music."
You can view a picture of Kurt Cobain below:
The rapper continues to highlight how strong hip-hop was becoming, yet grunge paused that movement, leading Jay and many alike to take notice of what was occurring.
"It was weird because hip-hop was becoming this force, then grunge music stopped it for one second, ya know?' he said. "Those 'hair bands' were too easy for us to take out; when Kurt Cobain came with that statement it was like, 'We got to wait awhile'."
Meanwhile, Jay recently finished an eight-night residency at the newly opened Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and was joined by wife Beyonce on the final night for a special performance of 'Crazy In Love'.
