Exploring Tricky & Maxinquaye: The 90s Bowie?

Tricky, a Bristol native and former Massive Attack member, hated the trip-hop tag even though his murky, bass-heavy beats, Martina Topley-Bird’s cool, haunting vocals and his own rasping delivery practically defined the genre. With soul, downtempo hip-hop and dub reggae as his palette, he turned personal trauma and melancholy into something dark, claustrophobic and deeply influential—earning nods (and later praise) from David Bowie himself.

1995’s Maxinquaye debut remains a pivotal moment in British music, laying bare Tricky’s raw vision before the mainstream sanitized it for radio. This documentary traces his rise, the album’s creation and release, and how he’s spent the decades since pushing boundaries of genre, identity and artistic freedom.

Watch on YouTube