Black Steel

Tricky recorded this cover of Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" for his 1995 debut album, Maxinquaye. The song features Martina Topley-Bird on vocals, Tricky's collaborator and girlfriend at the time.

"Black Steel" is a very different interpretation of the original song. The testosterone-laden bravado of Public Enemy's lyrics are transformed by Topley-Bird's singing, resulting in something delicate and almost fragile. "I got frustrated back in the day because the lyrics of rappers like Rakim, Slick Rick and Chuck D were so good, yet they got put in their box because they were rappers," he told The Guardian. "I wanted Martina, a female, to sing it to show my appreciation."

Pounding drums and guitars replace the stripped-down sound of the original. The beat originated from a cassette of 1980s Indian music that Tricky received from his ex-girlfriend's mother. Producer Mark Sanders then blended this with additional backing from the techno-rock band FTV.