David Bowie died last Sunday of cancer at age 69, two days after the release of his final studio album, “Blackstar.”

After an 18-month battle with cancer which reportedly started in his liver, Bowie “died peacefully [Sunday] surrounded by his family,” according to posts made on his Facebook and Twitter accounts.

In a week that has been underscored by losses in the artistic community—with the deaths of both Bowie and actor Alan Rickman—we take time to remember the man, the mind and the music of the Starman himself, David Bowie.

From “Space Oddity” to “Changes” to “Under Pressure,” chances are you have heard the genius that is and was David Bowie. In his 27 studio albums, Bowie was often described as musically 5 to 10 years ahead of his time. From the start of his career, Bowie’s musical style was undeniably unique and as fluid as the many personas he wore over the years. Ranging from glam rock to disco to experimental jazz, Bowie infused every song with his inimitable personality and creative spirit.

Two days before his death, Bowie released “Blackstar,” an experimental record collaborating with a jazz quartet led by saxophonist Donny McCaslin who he met at The 55 Bar in New York’s West Village. According to Bowie’s long-time producer Tony Visconti, in an interview he did for Rolling Stone back in November, “The goal, in many, many ways, was to avoid rock and roll.” And avoid rock and roll they did.

“Blackstar” combines elements of jazz, including thick and creative horn lines, and a signature Bowie flavor, with high echoing vocal accompaniments and lyrics as sharp as ever. The album serves as a beautifully poetic epitaph for a man who never stopped experimenting.

Bowie also put out two music videos accompanying the album before his death. The first video, for the album’s 10-minute title track, “Blackstar,” was released back in November with the single. The second video for “Lazarus,” a dramatic, pulsing and somber piece, was released one day before the album’s release.

Both videos are haunting and show a darker side of Bowie. They also both contain elements that, in hindsight, reference what we found out shortly after: that he was indeed dying of cancer.

In the video for “Blackstar,” Bowie is portrayed as a blind prophet who amassed a following of seizing figures, underscored by the crucifixion of three scarecrow figures and shots of a massive “solitary candle,” as it is referred to in the lyrics. The visuals take on a surreal, short film quality reminiscent of the cinematography present in Guillermo Del Toro films. That style and the unsettling yet flawless nature of the video’s pairing with the music applies to the video for “Lazarus.”

In the Lazarus video, we see Bowie lying on what now is clearly a hospital bed, being tormented from below by a shadowy female figure who looks similar to the monsters from the films “The Ring” and “The Grudge.” The lyrics of the song, which begin with “Look up here, I’m in heaven” may refer to Bowie’s struggle with his illness and with keeping his diagnosis a secret.

According to another Rolling Stone interview with Tony Visconti, Bowie was planning on recording another album after “Blackstar.” Reportedly Bowie had written and demoed five more songs and wanted to record one last album before he succumbed to what he reportedly knew since November was terminal cancer.

It may not have been the last album he wanted, but Bowie got to record and release one last critically acclaimed album before his death. Looking back on Bowie’s career, there was no other way he could have left this world. He was always so courageously and passionately dedicated to his music; to release one last record before the end is exactly how he would have wanted to go.

As a fan of his music, and the man behind it, I am incredibly saddened by his death, but with the release of “Blackstar,” it feels as if the life and music of David Bowie was a complete story. At 69 we lost him so young, but he was still able to put out one more album and die doing what he loved most in this world. It doesn’t remove the pain of his loss, but it is inspiring to know that even at the end he was so committed to his art.

Bowie was open about his bisexuality all the way back in 1976, and he constantly bent and broke the lines of gender, performing as many gender-ambiguous personas such as Ziggy Stardust. Bowie’s openness about his sexuality and his arguable gender-fluidity were and are inspirations to so many people in the LGBTQIA+ community, including myself. His unashamed presentation of himself is something to remember and for me something to always strive to reach in my personal life.

Bowie was always true to himself and never compromised his authenticity for anything. His ever-changing persona and his many phases bent to his own whims and no one else’s. He showed the world and generations of artists and non-artists alike that being real and genuine is a trait to be admired above all else, and that dedication and creativity should never be mired by conformity to anyone’s ideals but one’s own.

David Bowie was so many things to so many people. He was weird, he was wild, he was ingenious. He was creative, he was talented, he was eloquent. He was an inspiration to so many and changed music in so many ways. Bowie’s musical innovations echoed throughout his contemporaries and all those after him. And at the end he showed himself to be what he always was: dedicated, inspirational, progressive and genius. He was a man out of time, who made the most out of his time here, and we thank him for it, because without David Bowie, the music world would have never been the same.