Jay-Z Declares: ‘Kurt Cobain Stopped Hip-Hop’

Jay-Z has stated that Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spiritstopped the hip-hop world in its tracks and that he is a massive fan of the band and its songwriter, Kurt Cobain’s, work.

The hip-hop megastar revealed his thoughts to producer Pharrell Williams in the N.E.R.D musician’s coffee table book Pharrell: The Places and Spaces I’ve Been:

“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.”

Jay-Z noted that grunge brought a stop to hip-hop’s rise. “Those ‘hair bands’ were too easy for us to take out,” added the 99 Problems singer.” When Kurt Cobain came with that statement it was like, ‘We got to wait awhile’.”

Beyonce’s husband has also revealed his admiration for the singer whose suicide in 1994 left a huge chasm in the world of rock.

“I have always been a person who was curious about the music and when those forces come on the scene, they are inescapable. 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.”

Cobain is rumored to about to be played in a movie biopic by Robert Pattinson entitled All Apologies, whilst Pharrell’s coffee table book is due out on October 16 and sounds like it could be a worthy addition to anyone’s living room.