Rap icon Ice-T has declared the late David Bowie “a real one” after a historic MTV clip of the ‘Life On Mars’ hero gained traction online. The video is one of Bowie’s most enduring off-stage moments. It’s the 1983 interview with MTV where Bowie calls out the channel for its lack of Black artist representation.
At one point, the interviewer tried to counter that the station had “play the music that we think the entire country is gonna like” and questioned what an artist such as The Isley Brothers meant to a teenager. “I tell what an artist like The Isley Brothers or Marvin Gaye means to a Black 17-year-old,” Bowie responded. “And surely he’s part of America?”
Ice-T shared a Tweet accompanied by the video, which was originally shared by ex-basketball player, Rex Champman. T’s retweet said: “A lotta people may NOT know that David Bowie put MTV on blast back in the day for NOT playin Black artists.. He side stepped the double talk… Bowie was a REAL ONE.”
In other news, Bowie will be celebrated in January 2022 in London at BFI Southbank, with a season dedicated to his life in film. Bowie: Starman And The Silver Screen will run all month and will kick-off to coincide with what would have been his 75th birthday on January 8th. Other classics such as Labyrinth, The Man Who Fell To Earth and Bowie At Glastonbury 2000 will also be on show.
Last year, Ice-T made headlines when he supported the Swizz Beats’ idea for creating a retirement fund for ageing rappers. Beats suggested establishing a programme that supports rappers financially when they retire, claiming that elder hip-hop figures might not be as financially stable as younger ones.
Watch the trailer for Bowie: Starman And The Silver Screen below.
