Yesterday, David Bowie, a legendary and multi-faceted singer, performer and enigmatic songwriter, lost his 18-month battle with cancer, sending the entire music world into a frenzy as people recall their favorite moments, albums, and tidbits of wisdom–tidbits that came often from one of the most openly pensive minds in the business.
Above is a brief video clip–courtesy of DJ Whoo Kid‘s Instagram page–of Bowie’s 1993 sit-down with then Today Show co-host Bryant Gumbel, who was interviewing Bowie just after the release of his Black Tie White Noise album. The interview was centered around age and creativity–something Bowie surely had a wealth of knowledge about, he had just released his 18th studio album–and Gumbel referenced a previous interview Bowie had with Today, in which he expressed that he felt the only truly creative people left in the music business were rappers. Below is an excerpt.
Gumbel: I’ll never forget when last you were here you were saying that, the only people in the music business now–in your opinion–who were being truly creative were the rappers.
Bowie: Yes, I believe that’s so.
Gumbel: Do you think most others have sold out to commercialism?
Bowie: I don’t think it’s that so much. I think that the white generation have come of age, in fact, they’re part of the administration now. They’re people that brought rock ‘n’ roll to us in its white form. I think that the quality and the significance of the social message has moved very much, fundamentally, to the black and hispanic market now, and that’s where the new force of music is coming from. White music is as fragmented as society itself, and it seems to be reflecting that kind of chaos and fragmentation, whereas with black music, there’s a very strong social point to make. There’s a means of discovery and a purpose.
You can watch the full, 3-minute clip here.
