Frances Bean Cobain Approved Nirvana Sample in Lil Nas X’s ‘Panini’
Fans of rapper Lil Nas X may have noticed the chorus to “Panini” is similar to Nirvana’s “In Bloom.” In a new interview, the musician describes how he accidentally lifted Kurt Cobain’s vocal progression and how Kurt’s daughter, Frances Bean, approved of “Panini.”
Rock music has been the foundation for Lil Nas X’s biggest hits. The gigantic “Old Town Road” sampled Nine Inch Nails’ “34 Ghosts IV,” actually earning Trent Reznor a CMA Award nomination. Reznor even acknowledged his pseudo-involvement in the crossover song with an image of himself and Atticus Ross photoshopped over a Brooks & Dunn press shot.
As for “Panini,” Kurt Cobain was given a writing credit on the song and Frances Bean Cobain gave her blessing to Lil Nas X.
“I put out the snippet [of ‘Panini’] and everyone was like, ‘Wow, he’s sampling Nirvana.’ I was like, ‘Where? I’m not sampling Nirvana, this beat doesn’t have Nirvana in it.’ Then, I listened to ‘In Bloom’ in full, and I was like, ‘Oh, okay,’” the rapper recalls.
He continues, “I actually heard from Kurt’s daughter. 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 … It actually got me into the album for the first time. I had never heard Nevermind.”
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