At the time David Bowie was making Blackstar, the last album of his life, he and longtime producer Tony Visconti were listening to “a lot” of Kendrick Lamar.
So much Lamar that he became a central inspiration to the music. At the time, the rapper’s most recent release was 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly, a No. 1 album in both the U.S. and U.K. that earned a whopping seven Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year.
“We wound up with nothing like that, but we loved the fact [that] Kendrick was so open-minded and he didn’t do a straight-up hip-hop record,” Visconti told Rolling Stone in November of 2015, approximately two months before Bowie passed away at 69 years old. “He threw everything on there, and that’s exactly what we wanted to do. The goal, in many, many ways, was to avoid rock ‘n’ roll.”
Blackstar was released on Jan. 8, 2016, Bowie’s 69th birthday. He died two days later after an 18-month battle with liver cancer.
Watch the Music Video for ‘Lazarus’ From ‘Blackstar’
“What a honor, what a soul. David Bowie, Spirit of Gold. RIP,” Lamar posted on social media at the time.
Bowie knew he was dying, but he told only a few close people and, for the most part, kept on with his work as normal.
“There was a lot of gravity about him in his final years, he was a deep thinker,” Visconti later shared with Mojo. “But when he recorded Blackstar, when he knew that his time could be limited, it didn’t stop his sense of humor in any way. He was still very open and friendly. He told everyone, ‘I can’t come to the studio every day for medical reasons.’ But he was still happy as anything to be in the studio.”
David Bowie’s Longtime Appreciation for Rap Music
Bowie’s admiration for rap and hip-hop artists was not new. In 1993, he spoke with TODAY about contemporary rap music.
“You were saying that the only people in the music business now in your opinion who were being truly creative were the rappers,” interviewer Bryant Gumbel said to him.
“Yes, I believe that’s so,” came Bowie’s reply. “The quality and significance of the social message has moved very much to the black and hispanic market. And that’s where the new force of music is coming from. … With black music, there’s a very strong social point to make. There’s a means of discovery and a purpose.”
Rappers’ Appreciation for David Bowie
And the street went both ways. Bowie’s song “Fame” in particular has been sampled in a number of popular hip-hop singles, including but not limited to Jay-Z‘s “The Takeover,” Ice Cube‘s “Alive on Arrival,” MC Lyte‘s “Put It on You” and Public Enemy‘s “Night of the Living Baseheads.” Probably the most famous example of Bowie sampling was Vanilla Ice‘s use of the Queen collaboration “Under Pressure” in “Ice Ice Baby.”
In January of 2016, Lamar made a second post addressing Bowie’s passing: “Hoping 2 meet u after we heard the news. At Brock [Korsan]’s house watchin your Doc’s & interviews. But no lens could ever capture your point of view.”
Listen to ‘I Can’t Give Everything Away’ From ‘Lazarus’
David Bowie Albums Ranked
David Bowie is not just rock’s greatest chameleon; he’s also one of music’s most imaginative conceptual artists.
Gallery Credit: Bryan Wawzenek
