How Nirvana Changed Music Forever Posted by Lucas G. on 03/31/14 | Filed under Opinion, Non Hip-Hop

Right now, there is no bigger style or sub-genre than trap. Even if you don't think it's numero uno, you still can't deny its popularity. I know it's hard to quantify exactly, but next time you are out, either at the club or just checkin' out the radio, take a listen to how many trap-inspired songs you hear. It might not be your favorite, it sure as hell isn't mine, but there is a reason why seemingly every chart topping artist seems to be going that route; it works. Now, take a minute and imagine one group coming along and completely blowing trap off the radar. It might seem implausible, but that is essentially what happened back in the early '90s with hair metal.

Now I was anywhere from zero to four years old around the time when hair metal ruled the earth, so I can't speak from personal experience, but you didn't have to be to know about hair metal. It was THE most popular genre for around a decade. The 80's and early 90's were dominated by dudes dressing up in really tight pants, and using more hairspray than Jared Leto with a beehive. It seems almost like a joke now, but back then, there was nothing funny about it; hair metal was music. Just when it seemed like songs like "Jump", "Photograph", and "We're Not Gonna Take It" were going to be around for ever the 80's turned into the 90's and skin tight leopard jumpsuits we're exchanged for flannel thanks to grunge music. Now, they aren't  the only grunge band that had some success-- Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden all played a role--but the godfathers of grunge were Nirvana. With the 20th anniversary of Cobain's death right around the corner ( April 5th) I could sit here and talk about the hits ("Smells Like Teen Spirit" or "Come As You Are") or the fashion statements, or....Courtney Love, but to me the biggest, and most under appreciated influence Nirvana had was in the end of Hair Metal.

Now, I wasn't always a hip-hop head, so I spent some very good years rocking Nirvana shirts over Detox ones, but I think there's an entire new generation for whom the tale of the Seatle band is ancient history, so let's recap. Coming out of Seattle in the early 90's, Nirvana, and grunge as a whole offered a completely different experience than glam metal. Instead of flash costumes and poppy power ballads, they rocked old flannel and had a dingy, guttural sound that was much less poppy, but had much more feeling. The thing that always gets me about Nirvana is that they weren't "good". Now I know Dave Grohl (who is also part of the Foo Fighters) may not be bad, same goes with (Cobain and Krist Novoselic), but they aren't blowing you away with solo's or crazy riffs. The instrumentals are all relatively simple; stark, basic but perfect for the vibe. It wouldn't sound right to hear Cobain sing out his tortured soul to some complex , frenetic instrumental. The meager, dank stuff worked much better and while it didn't sound like it, was a breath of fresh air. The authentic, punk-inspired genre was a welcome change to the  then manufactured, commercialized glam sound and was embraced for being new and different.

The holy grail of grunge is Nirvana's Nevermind. Released in 1991, the album went on to become a staple of the 90's and made Kurt Cobain one of the most important figures in the decade, even though he passed away in 1994 (still, his influence is still felt today). I could mention all the classics on it or I could mention how it was named number 17 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums List, but really I we need to see just how powerful Cobain and Nirvana were is to look at hair metal. How many artists can say they effectively made a genre extinct by forming a new one? Even some of the most influential artists ever (Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney) didn't blaze their own trail like Cobain. He made something from nothing and that something changed music. If it sounds like I am making a big deal of it, you aren't thinking about it in the right light. There is always room for more music--you don't have to pick one kind to listen too--but after Nevermind and grunge, people effectively stopped listening to hair metal; I don't know how many artists cans say that and have it be true, but Nirvana is certainly one of them. It takes a lot to become a famous band, it takes something else all together to effectively end a decade long trend.

The thing I love most about hip-hop is that, at its best, it's goal is to shake up convention, to challenge what we know (or what we think we know) by being more authentic, original, and creative than the guy before. Though you won't hear Cobain rapping, that same spirit is what Nirvana was all about. So whether you are new to Nirvana or were at their unplugged show, take an hour or two and give them a few spins, even hip-hop fans can appreciate him (the music ain't bad either). In an era where so much of the mainstream sound the same, I think we can appreciate Cobain now more than ever.