Lil Nas X made Billboard history earlier this year when his unlikely country-rap mashup ‘Old Town Road’ became the longest-running #1 song in the history of the Hot 100.
He made history again a couple of weeks ago when he became the first openly gay artist to win a Country Music Award.
That’s a lot of history-making for a weird little two-minute track. And talk about a hard act to follow.
Well, Lil Nas X’s follow-up single, ‘Panini,’ isn’t likely to break any records, but it did reach #5 and currently sits at #8 in its 20th week on the chart.
Named not for the sandwich but for a character in an animated series called Chowder, ‘Panini’ is aimed at Nas X’s early fans who resent his recent success. “I got fans finally,” he says, “ain’t you wanting them to see me?”
Nas X was found to have accidentally used the melody of the chorus to Nirvana’s ‘In Bloom’ for the chorus to this song. You can compare the two here. As a result, Kurt Cobain received posthumous songwriting credit on this track.
Coincidentally, ‘In Bloom’ was also directed at the band’s fans, though in Nirvana’s case it was about the new fans they gained after their successful first album.
D-D-Daytrip took it to ten (Hey)
[Verse 1]
Ayy, Panini, don’t you be a meanie
Thought you wanted me to go up
Why you tryna keep me teeny? I
It’s a dream, he wished it on a genie
I got fans finally, ain’t you wanting them to see me?
[Refrain]
I thought you want this for my life, for my life
Said you wanted to see me thrive, you lied
[Chorus]
Just say to me what you want from me
Just say to me what you want from me
[Verse 2]
Ayy, Panini, don’t you be a meanie
Thought you wanted me to go up
Why you tryna keep me teeny now?
Now they need me, number one on streaming
Oh yeah, you used to love me
So what happened, what’s the meaning? I
[Refrain]
I thought you want this for my life, for my life
Said you wanted to see me thrive, you lied
[Verse 3]
Now when it’s all done, I get the upper hand
I need a big Benz, not another fan
But I still want you as a fan
I’ma need to sit down, don’t mean to make demands
But I need you to…
[Chorus]
Say to me what you want from me
Just say to me what you want from me
[Outro: Nessly]
D-D-Daytrip took it to ten (Hey)
Meet Me In Montauk 
While it’s probably not worth fighting the battle in court, I don’t think he stole from Nirvana. Melodically, you are talking about five notes in a simple pattern with no real similarity in lyrics, rhythm or sound. At some point, this nonsense needs to stop!