The song that made Ice Cube think David Bowie was Black
David Bowie was an inspiration to so many musicians, but one of the more surprising to have looked up to him, arguably, is Ice Cube. They even worked together once, technically speaking.
In 1997, Bowie released a single called ‘I’m Afraid Of Americans,’ which had featured on his album Earthling. The song was written by Bowie and Brian Eno, but, as part of its release as a single, a series of remixes were also made. They were, for the most part, handled by Trent Reznor and his group Nine Inch Nails.
Six remixes of ‘I’m Afraid Of Americans’ were produced, but one of them featured none other than Ice Cube. A deeply strange song, the remix sees Cube contributing a few lines about the state of his home country. “Welcome to America,” he spits. “We in hysteria.”
Not long after Bowie’s death in 2016, Cube gave an interview to Rolling Stone where he reflected on the experience of working on the remix. Characterising the collaboration as a big deal, he was full of praise for Bowie.
“He was such an innovator,” he said, “and his songs were phenomenal.”
Cube went on to recall the very first time that he came across Bowie, which was when he heard his 1975 hit ‘Fame,’ which featured John Lennon. “I remember when I first heard ‘Fame’ on the radio,” Cube said. “I thought he was Black. It was so funky!”
Bowie was openly inspired by Black music, and he never shied away from it. He was also known to advocate on behalf of Black artists, as he did during the early days of MTV. In 1983 he discussed the new station in an interview, praising its innovations but criticising the lack of Black artists that were featured during those days.
“It occurred to me having watched MTV over the last few months that it’s a solid enterprise,” he said at the time. “It’s got a lot going for it. I’m just floored by the fact that there’s so few Black artists featured on it. Why is that?”
The feeling of admiration between Bowie and the Black music scene as broadly conceived was mutual. In addition to Ice Cube, countless other leading Black artists cited Bowie’s influence on them in the aftermath of his death, including Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Kendrick Lamar.