Nirvana Has Unlikely Fan in Lil Wayne

Puddle of Mudd, Seether, Staind— these are the post-grunge guys who usually count Nirvana as their reason for picking up the guitar. But now, it appears Nirvana has an unlikely fan in rapper Lil Wayne.

Weezy told MTV News that, in spite of his rap roots, he adores Kurt Cobain and the Seattle rockers’ 1991 grunge hit, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’

“. . . Do you remember ‘The Box?’ Because of that you had to sit down and watch about ten videos you do not wanna see,” he said.

“It was still rare that a rock ’n’ roll video would come on, so when one do come on you were like, ‘No I didn’t order that.’ But ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was the only rock song that come on and you’d be like, ‘That one is OK, I can deal with that one.’”

Lil Wayne could relate to the song’s angst-y, youth-fueled message.

“I was young, and I actually listened to the lyrics, [and] I probably felt at that time,” he said. “I was rebelling, and I can associate myself with that [and] relate to the things he was talking about in the songs. I probably couldn’t, but I thought I could.”

Nirvana's Classic Video for 'Smells Like Teen Spirit':