Kurt Cobain passed away over 24 years ago, but his effect on the world is still felt. Nirvana's music is still listened to by millions, their work has been a great influence on many musicians, and now we are still hearing new things from him - after a previously unheard interview has found its way online.
The interview was posted online by Roberto Lorusso, a musician (and then-student) who conducted the interview for a student radio station.
In this interview, which took place on 20 September 1991 at the Opera House in Toronto, Canada, Cobain discussed their album Nevermind, the band's tour, and the denied rumours of a reported $1 million record deal.
Lorusso titled the post 'My embarrassing interview with Kurt Cobain', and apologised for the "terrible" interview he recorded.
"I am not feigning self-deprecating modesty when I say this, this is objectively terrible by all journalistic standards," he said. "It is so for the following reasons: 1) My questions were poorly crafted because 2) My research was incomplete and inaccurate."
However, in early November, he finally decided to release it because "it's still history," leaving the world with a bit more of the musician it lost - including some noteworthy comments. In the interview, the Nirvana frontman expressed his belief that white people shouldn't rap.
When asked what he thinks about the music group Consolidated, whose white members often rapped, Cobain said:
"I'm a fan of rap music, but most of it is so misogynist that I can't even deal with it. I'm not really that much of a fan.
"I totally respect and love it because it's one of the only original forms of music that's been introduced, but the white man doing rap is just like watching a white man dance. We can't dance, we can't rap."
This wasn't the only time he has expressed similar views on the subject, like when he was interviewed by Billboard the same year. "I think rap music is the only vital form of music that has been introduced to music in a long time since punk rock," he said.
"I would never do rap music. No. There's just no sense in it. The people who do rap music do it just fine... I'm usually offended by people like Vanilla Ice, and stuff like that.
"The white man ripped off the black man long enough. They should leave rap music to the African-Americans because they do it so well and it is so vital to them."
Lorusso's final take-away from the interview he conducted was the sense that the frontman wasn't enjoying the band's success. "I was so enamoured with and envious of his talent and a success I just couldn't understand how he could have been so indifferent to it," he wrote. "A few years later it became very clear why."
"When I reflected on this experience, I realised that success doesn't mean a goddamn thing if your world is falling apart. Depression is a cruel thief that bankrupts your life with one fleeting moment of joy at a time. It still bums me out."
It seems that despite the fact Lorusso wasn't properly prepared for the interview, he was treated well by the rock star, who he described as "remarkably patient and kind".
