Gil Scott-Heron

Most people think hip hop is all about guns, bitches, and money. And rightfully so. But long before all this mess it actually started very differently, with one man proclaiming: “The revolution will not be televised.” That man’s name was Gil Scott-Heron, also known as the “godfather of rap” and the “black Bob Dylan”.

He passed away over the weekend. I’ve consulted Wikipedia in my sincere attempt to do this legend justice.

Scott-Heron was primarily known for his work as a spoken word performer in the 1970s and 80s, and for his collaborative soul works with musician Brian Jackson. Their collaborative efforts featured a musical fusion of jazz, blues and soul music, as well as lyrical content concerning social and political issues of the time, delivered in both rapping and melismatic vocal styles by Scott-Heron.

Sound familiar?

The music of these albums, most notably Pieces of a Man and Winter in America in the early 1970s, influenced and helped engender later African-American music genres such as hip hop and neo soul. Scott-Heron’s recording work is often associated with black militant activism and has received much critical acclaim for one of his most well-known compositions “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised“.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGaRtqrlGy8

He was by no means an angel, and kind of fell by the wayside for a bit.

In 2001, Scott-Heron was sentenced to one to three years’ imprisonment in New York State for possession of cocaine. He was released on parole in 2003. On July 5, 2006, Scott-Heron was sentenced to two to four years in a New York State prison for violating a plea deal on a drug-possession charge by leaving a drug rehabilitation center. Scott-Heron’s sentence was to run until July 13, 2009. He was paroled on May 23, 2007.^[14] The reason given for the violation of his plea deal was that the clinic refused to supply Scott-Heron with HIV medication. This story led to the presumption that the artist was HIV positive.

But, like a true champion, he bounced back last year with I’m New Here – his thirteenth studio album. It was critically acclaimed and Jamie xx from The xx even remixed it.

Check these out:

RIP, Gil Scott-Heron.

[Source: Wikipedia]