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Poet, recording artist and music pioneer Gil Scott-Heron died on Friday at the age of 62. His spoken word, oft accompanied by sparse rhythmic instrumentation, voiced the disillusionment of the post civil-rights era. His sharp, cool political commentary would heavily influence artists like Public Enemy, Mos Def, Tupac, and Common. While many consider Scott-Heron to be the godfather of hip-hop and rap he often denied the credit. Scott-Heron called himself a "bluesologist" drawing on the long tradition of black music and poetry in America, which included jazz, blues and poets of the Harlem Renaissance like Langston Hughes and others.
Gil Scott-Heron- The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Scott-Heron offerd up a brilliant release in 2010 (his first in 16 years) called I'm New Here, that seemed like a light at the end of the tunnel after a stint behind bars for drug possession. However, years of addiction took a toll and Scott-Heron died in Manhattan on May 27th after returning from a trip to Europe.
He was never a mainstream artist and yet he laid the foundation for the creation of an entire genre. He has been called the Black Bob Dylan (a moniker which I am reluctant to use). I don't hesitate, however, to call him a musical innovator and one of America's brilliant poets.
Rip Gil Scott-Heron.
