Entertainment
Kurt Cobain’s Unexpected Feud With Guns N’ Roses Started With This Controversial Song
Nothing says the ‘90s like a deep running feud between two major artists. There are countless industry beefs that define the era, from 2Pac vs. Notorious B.I.G. to the Oasis‘ Gallagher brothers, Noel and Liam. However, the particular feud between Guns N’ Roses’ frontman Axl Rose and Nirvana’s frontman Kurt Cobain stands as one of the most critical of the time. Their major rock rivalry was fueled by clashing ideologies and a tense 1992 MTV VMA confrontation, where Rose ultimately threatened Cobain. Because of that, Cobain refused to have Nirvana support the Guns N’ Roses/Metallica stadium tour, disliking Rose to the point of considering the entire band “talentless.” The highly anticipated tour could have been legendary, yet both acts were unable to move forward from their disdain of one another. But while the feud has long been known and referenced, not many know the exact song that Cobain himself deemed Guns N’ Roses’ worst work, initiating much of his hatred for him and the band as a whole.
When it came to controversial songs, no track quite pushed the envelope the way that Guns N’ Roses’ “One in a Million” did. Released in 1988 on G N’ R Lies, it caused immediate controversy due to derogatory comments about the black community, members of lgbtq+ community, and immigrants. As a very public and vocal critic of Guns N’ Roses, Cobain specifically condemned Rose for just how offensive the track was. With Nirvana representing the opposite end of the rock spectrum, he despised the song’s racist and homophobic slurs, using it as a primary example of why he disliked the band entirely.
The Story Behind ‘One in a Million’
If there is anything embedded within the DNA of Guns N’ Roses, it’s that they were never afraid to go beyond the imposed boundaries and say whatever they deemed fit, even if it landed them on the “wrong” side of history. That’s why when Rose decided to write a song about his experience getting hustled at a Greyhound bus station when he first came to Los Angeles, he spared nothing when it came to potentially offensive lyrics.
Police and n*****s, that’s right, get outta my way
Don’t need to buy none of your gold chains today
Immigrants and f*****s, they make no sense to me
They come to our country, and think they’ll do as they please
Like start some mini-Iran, or spread some f*****g disease
And they talk so many goddamn ways, it’s all Greek to me
Radicals and racists, don’t point your finger at me
I’m a small town white boy just tryin’ to make ends meet
Don’t need your religion, don’t watch that much TV
Just makin’ my livin’, baby, well, that’s enough for me
It could have been a clash of genres, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Given Cobain’s strong stance on feminism and social justice, the song most certainly didn’t land well with him. His disdain stemmed from how offensive and exclusionary he found its lyrics, which stood against everything he publicly championed as an artist. And of course, Cobain wasn’t the only one to find offense with the song. Most music critics found “One in a Million” to be an outright abomination, with an OC Register writer calling it “the most repellent slice of right-wing paranoia ever to be released by a major label.”
Nirvana vs Guns N’ Roses
So what was Rose’s response to the controversy? Without initially apologizing or taking much accountability for the slurs used, he defended the lyrics by claiming that they served as a reclamation of the rules imposed upon him. Rose later went on to clarify that he didn’t identify as a homophobic, insisting that some of his icons, including Freddie Mercury and Elton John, were bisexual or gay. He also issued an apology for those offended by the song, deeming the lyrics to be “simple and extremely generic.” Yet, the damage was done, and Cobain wasn’t finding much empathy in his heart to offer. Cobain’s criticism of Guns N’ Roses ran deep, rooted in a clashing of values rather than just a criticism of their music. “We’re not your typical Guns N’ Roses type of band that has absolutely nothing to say” he shared in a 1991 interview with Seconds magazine. Cobain stood against their macho posturing, sexism, and what he saw as exclusionary attitudes, leading to their rivalry to remain unresolved by the time of his tragic death in 1994.