Jack White has praised modern hip-hop in a new interview, going as far as to call it the “new punk rock”.
In an interview with Clash White, who just released his new album Boarding House Reach, spoke extensively about hip-hop saying he’s been listening to Nicki Minaj, Kanye West and A Tribe Called Red.
“In a lot of ways, it is the new punk rock,” he said.
“They’re doing the dangerous things – whether it’s Trippie Redd or Tekashi69; these are a very punk, dangerous side of music.”
He said this after remarking that he wants a rock act to, “blow my mind right now,” before adding that he’s particularly impressed at the moment by the boldness of Minaj’s lyrics.
“[If] you listen to Nicki Minaj’s ‘Only’…I mean, some of those lyrics are like, ‘Holy shit!’ I, as an adult, listening to that by myself, am shocked at some of the words that I’m hearing. But it’s brilliant,” he said.
“It’s brilliant to be able to say that, to be able to say whatever you want. I couldn’t get away with saying half of those things that Nicki Minaj says in that song. It’s just brilliant to see how far things have gone in that sense, and how cool it is for people to talk about these moments and say, ‘Wow, check this out.’”
White has worked with hip-hop artists like JAY-Z and A Tribe Called Quest in the past but it’s a rare occurrence for him.
Recently, he’s been very critical of modern rock music. He said in another interview with KROQ that rock needs, “an injection of some new young blood.”
