8. Vanilla Ice’s Mere Existence

Bowie’s music was sampled more than once by famed rap and hip hop artists of all shapes and sizes, and the unusual mixes always turned out to be pretty good.

Kanye West sampled his “fame” howl on Jay-Z’s “Turnover,” P. Diddy (back in the day when he was known as Puff Daddy) was really successful with his “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” hit in which he sampled “Let’s Dance,” and Public Enemy went full-on Bowie in their hugely popular song “Night Of The Living Baseheads.”

Bowie even collaborated with P. Diddy for the Training Day soundtrack, on “American Dream.” Yet, somehow, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Bowie and rap in the same time is Vanilla Ice and the megahit “Ice Ice Baby.” Vanilla Ice took a loop of the “Under Pressure” bassline and built an entire song over it, only to credit Bowie later on. Without Bowie, Vanilla Ice would have never existed. We’re not sure how to feel about that.