Recent Kanye West and Eminem collaborator, Kid Cudi, took to Instagram over the weekend to share a new tattoo honoring his now-late rock influences, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and songwriter Daniel Johnston.
The piece was completed by well-known tattoo artist Dr. Woo appears to be inspired by an encounter between lead singer Cobain and members of the press at a 1992 Video Music Awards event.
Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Kurt Cobain at the 1992 MTV VMAs - Ke.Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images
Despite never having worked directly together, Cobain was such a vocal fan of Johnston’s that the shirt he wore to the event was a replica of Johnston’s debut album artwork. The incident managed to propel Johnston's cult-like following even further.
The now-iconic design shows a plain, bug-eyed frog beneath the words ”Hi, How Are You”, and beneath it all lies a small badge with the letter “K”, representing the indie record label K, and the exact same tattoo that Cobain also had.
This is not Cud’s first show of reverence for the late rockstar. He stated in an interview with GQ, “Kurt has always been an inspiration… I try to use him as my muse whenever I can.”
The “Pursuit of Happiness” artist joins a list of famed hip-hop figures who cite Cobain as inspiring, including Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, and JAY-Z; all of whom have been outspoken in claiming Nirvana enhanced their passion for music.
