Sometimes an artist's praise towards another can backfire in a pretty big way, especially when the commendation seems so out of character. Moreover, that's what's happening to grunge star Courtney Love right now, since fans recently had a lot to say about her latest interview with The Standard published November 26. She was asked about which artists she would love to work with as a dream collab, and K.Dot was one of her multiple answers. However, Kurt Cobain's widow sparked backlash for this statement, or rather, for her alleged racist past that this praise of Kendrick and other artists sought to obfuscate.
"I would love to work with Kendrick Lamar; I have a mad crush on him," Courtney Love told the outlet. "I also love UK femme drill artists, but it has to sound organic, not forced. Additionally, I’m a fan of Stormzy and Doja Cat. [...] Like I said, I have a big crush on Kendrick. He is also genius." Courtney also remarked that she would love to work with her "home guys" like Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre. But this is where the problem starts to arise.
Courtney Love's Kendrick Lamar Praise Raises Eyebrows For Various Reasons
Moreover, people saw these Kendrick Lamar comments and looked back at all of Courtney Love's alleged controversies when it comes to racism. The big one is a 1994 track that her band Hole recorded and performed only once in 1994 reportedly titled "N***er Of Your Dreams." This adds to other alleged bigoted remarks during live shows and interviews, such as her questioning whether Black people really listen to rock music and associating them with prison. Considering the themes in Kendrick's music, then this seems like quite misguided or at least performative praise.
That is, if Courtney Love hasn't learned or changed at all in 30 years, which we sincerely hope she has if she promoted racism in the first place. Maybe this is the result of newfound healing and understanding, so we hope that she already got over her bigoted bump or is doing so right now. Otherwise, it's all smoke. As for Kendrick Lamar, GNX is doing incredibly well, and its massive success is the cherry on top of what's been an incredible year for him.