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Jan. 14th, 2016
Jeff Weiss' Vice article looks at the influence of Bowie on hip-hop. This was one of the more original takes on Bowie's legaqcy I've come across so far.
If you’re so inclined, you could convincingly argue that David Bowie might have influenced rap more than any rock star other than Prince. And if you don’t believe that he significantly affected Prince, I challenge you to an old school rules walk-off.
At his core, Bowie’s approach shared the same fundamental principle as hip-hop or really any good art: do what you want. There’s a reason he’s the guy who wrote “Rebel Rebel.”
The list of those who sampled him reads like a Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. Dilla nicked the drums for “Take Notice” from “Soul Love.” El-P swiped the same ones for “Innocent Leader.” Kanye dropped a distorted bellow from Bowie’s “Fame” on “The Takeover.” Public Enemy’s “Night of the Living Baseheads” deploys a chopped guitar squeal from “Fame.” Ice Cube used it for “Alive on Arrival.” A warped loop of “Fame” soundtracks EPMD’s “It Wasn’t Me, It was the Fame.” Dre jacked it for a song on his Aftermath compilation.
There’s a Suga Free song built off Bowie called “Allergic to the Bullshit.” Does Pomona’s most celebrated pimp owe something to Mars’ most venerable polyamorist? Contrast these photos and do the math. You can see or hear Bowie’s sound in Saul Williams, MC Lyte, Sage Francis, Max B, Toddy Tee, ODB, and MF Doom. But none remotely match the impact of the two biggest rap singles bearing his fingerprints.
Over a quarter century later, it’s still as easy to mock “Ice Ice Baby” as it was upon its release. Robert Van Winkle never did himself any favors, and it’s fallen so far out of favor that its request would even embarrass a wedding DJ. But it doesn’t change the fact that David Bowie (and Queen) essentially produced the first-ever number one rap song. And with the hindsight of history, it’s patently obvious that no one ever gave a fuck about Vanilla Ice—they just really loved David Bowie.
For millions of pre-adolescent hip-hop fans, “Ice Ice Baby” served as a gateway drug in the same way the Bow Wow later was for Vince Staples. And corniness aside, Vanilla Ice sounds like Mobb Deep next to Macklemore. Plus, it also established a formula soon mimicked by Puff Daddy: Match a popular 80s pop sample with moderately hard drums and watch the money pile up.
Back in February 2008, I wrote about how David Bowie's song "I'm Afraid of Americans, off of his 1997 album Earthling, meant a lot to me. It means more now: I think it the best song on a pretty good album.
The whole gloriously spiky song is rich with meaning. It could well be that this is a song about simple fear of Americans, as Bowie said once. It may not only be that, equally telling a story about how we can be afraid of anyone and everyone and everything in a world not guaranteed to be safe.
This is why I love Bowie's work so much. His work is so dense, so complete, so enjoyable. I hope we will see his kind again.
The whole gloriously spiky song is rich with meaning. It could well be that this is a song about simple fear of Americans, as Bowie said once. It may not only be that, equally telling a story about how we can be afraid of anyone and everyone and everything in a world not guaranteed to be safe.
I’m afraid of americans
I’m afraid of the world
I’m afraid I cant help it
I’m afraid I cant
Johnnys in america
God is an american
I’m afraid of americans
I’m afraid of the world
This is why I love Bowie's work so much. His work is so dense, so complete, so enjoyable. I hope we will see his kind again.