Lil Nas X, Nine Inch Nails, & Nirvana Walk Into A Bar…

So I'm gonna share this with you the way I learned about it. And it kind of blew my mind when I did find out.

Lil Nas X is pretty amazing to me. Last year at this time the dude was probably doing his blogging thing. It has been show that he was a pretty big Nicki Minaj fan/stan.

But enter Old Town Road, the remix, Billy Rae Cyrus, the longest running #1 charting song, his EP release, the cover of Time Magazine, and now Grammy nominations. The kid is living his best life ever.

But there is something about his music that I find pretty cool that a lot of folks might not know about.

The careful nod to the samples he uses (thanks in part to his producers on his "7" EP) are eclectic to say in the least.

Until he won his CMA award, a fair amount of people were not aware that the song Old Town Road shared in its credits (thanks in part to a sample) two names from the band Nine Inch Nails. Namely Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. And what does Old Town Road have in common with Nine Inch Nails?

Well..first this. The song...Lil Nas X.

(Credit: Lil Nas X via YouTube0

And the sample Nine Inch Nails.

(Credit: b0uncer05 via YouTube)

But wait...there's more alternative music Lil Nas X connections.

The song - Lil Nas X "Panini" and pay attention to the hook and the melody.

(Credit: Lil Nas X via YouTube)

Because it sounds very similar to Nirvana's "In Bloom."

(Credit: Nirvana via YouTube)

But amazingly enough, this wasn't a sample and Lil Nas X said it was totally by accident that it happened.

According to the 20-year-old, he didn’t realize that the melody on the chorus was similar to the one on “In Bloom,” which led to a Nirvana writing credit on the track. The song, which is featured on his debut EP 7, got the final blessing from the Resident Millennial of the Nirvana estate, Frances Bean Cobain. Lil Nas X tweeted a “thank you” to the daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. (Rolling Stone)