Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American
jazz poet, singer,
musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a
spoken-word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...
performer in the
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War i ...
and
1980s
File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...
. His collaborative efforts with musician
Brian Jackson featured a musical fusion of
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
,
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
, and
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
, as well as lyrical content concerning social and political issues of the time, delivered in both
rapping
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
and
melisma
Melisma ( grc-gre, μέλισμα, , ; from grc, , melos, song, melody, label=none, plural: ''melismata'') is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referr ...
tic vocal styles by Scott-Heron. His own term for himself was "bluesologist",
which he defined as "a scientist who is concerned with the origin of the blues".
[Onstage at the Black Wax Club in Washington, D.C. in 1982, Scott-Heron cited ]Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...
writers Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...
, Sterling Brown, Jean Toomer
Jean Toomer (born Nathan Pinchback Toomer; December 26, 1894 – March 30, 1967) was an American poet and novelist commonly associated with the Harlem Renaissance, though he actively resisted the association, and with modernism. His reputatio ...
, Countee Cullen
Countee Cullen (born Countee LeRoy Porter; May 30, 1903 – January 9, 1946) was an American poet, novelist, children's writer, and playwright, particularly well known during the Harlem Renaissance.
Early life
Childhood
Countee LeRoy Porter ...
and Claude McKay as among those who had "taken the blues as a poetry form" in the 1920s and "fine-tuned it" into a "remarkable art form".[Gil Scott-Heron in a live performance in 1982 with the Amnesia Express at the Black Wax Club, Washington, D.C. ''Black Wax'' (DVD). Directed by Robert Mugge.] His poem "''
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" is a poem and song by Gil Scott-Heron. Scott-Heron first recorded it for his 1970 album ''Small Talk at 125th and Lenox'', on which he recited the lyrics, accompanied by congas and bongo drums. A re-record ...
''", delivered over a
jazz-soul beat, is considered a major influence on
hip hop music.
His music, most notably on the albums ''
Pieces of a Man
''Pieces of a Man'' is the debut studio album by American poet Gil Scott-Heron. It was recorded in April 1971 at RCA Studios in New York City and released later that year by Flying Dutchman Records. The album followed Scott-Heron's debut live a ...
'' and ''
Winter in America
''Winter in America'' is a studio album by American vocalist Gil Scott-Heron and keyboardist Brian Jackson. It was recorded in September to October 1973 at D&B Sound Studio in Silver Spring, Maryland and released in May 1974 by Strata-East Reco ...
'' in the early 1970s, influenced and foreshadowed later
African-American music
African-American music is an umbrella term covering a diverse range of music and musical genres largely developed by African Americans and their culture. Their origins are in musical forms that first came to be due to the condition of slave ...
genres such as
hip hop and
neo soul
Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...
. His recording work received much critical acclaim, especially for ''The Revolution Will Not Be Televised''.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's John Bush called him "one of the most important progenitors of
rap music
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
", stating that "his aggressive, no-nonsense street poetry inspired a legion of intelligent rappers while his engaging songwriting skills placed him square in the
R&B charts later in his career."
Scott-Heron remained active until his death, and in 2010 released his first new album in 16 years, entitled ''
I'm New Here
''I'm New Here'' is the 15th and final studio album by American vocalist and pianist Gil Scott-Heron. It was released on February 8, 2010, by XL Recordings and was his first release of original music in 16 years, following a period of personal and ...
''. A memoir he had been working on for years up to the time of his death, ''The Last Holiday'', was published posthumously in January 2012. Scott-Heron received a posthumous
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. He also is included in the exhibits at the
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in December 2003 and opened its permanent home in ...
(NMAAHC) that officially opened on September 24, 2016, on the
National Mall
The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...
, and in an NMAAHC publication, ''Dream a World Anew''. In 2021, Scott-Heron was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
, as a recipient of the Early Influence Award.
Early years
Gil Scott-Heron was born in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
.
His mother, Bobbie Scott, was an opera singer who performed with the
Oratorio Society of New York The Oratorio Society of New York is a not-for-profit membership organization that performs choral music in the oratorio style. Founded in 1873 by conductor Leopold Damrosch and is the third oldest musical organization in New York City. The Society h ...
. His father,
Gil Heron
Gilbert Saint Elmo Heron (9 April 1922 – 27 November 2008) was a Jamaican professional footballer. He was the first black player to play for Scottish club Celtic and was the father of poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron.
Career
Born Gilbert Her ...
, nicknamed "The Black Arrow", was a Jamaican footballer who in the 1950s became the first black man to play for
Celtic F.C.
The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...
in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, UK.
Gil's parents separated in his early childhood
and he was sent to live with his maternal grandmother, Lillie Scott, in
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States ...
. When Scott-Heron was 12 years old, his grandmother died and he returned to live with his mother in
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He enrolled at
DeWitt Clinton High School
, motto_translation = Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished
, image = DeWitt Clinton High School front entrance IMG 7441 HLG.jpg
, seal_image = File:Clinton News.JPG
, seal_size = 124px
, ...
,
but later transferred to
The Fieldston School,
after impressing the head of the English department with some of his writings and earning a full scholarship.
As one of five Black students at the prestigious school, Scott-Heron was faced with alienation and a significant socioeconomic gap. During his admissions interview at Fieldston, an administrator asked him: How would you feel if you see one of your classmates go by in a limousine while you're walking up the hill from the subway?' And
esaid, 'Same way as you. Y'all can't afford no limousine. How do you feel? This type of intractable boldness would become a hallmark of Scott-Heron's later recordings.
After completing his secondary education, Scott-Heron decided to attend
Lincoln University in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
because
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...
(his most important literary influence) was an alumnus. It was here that Scott-Heron met
Brian Jackson, with whom he formed the band Black & Blues. After about two years at Lincoln, Scott-Heron took a year off to write the novels ''The Vulture'' and ''The Nigger Factory''.
Scott-Heron was very heavily influenced by the
Black Arts Movement
The Black Arts Movement (BAM) was an African American-led art movement that was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Through activism and art, BAM created new cultural institutions and conveyed a message of black pride. The movement expanded from ...
(BAM).
The Last Poets
The Last Poets are several groups of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African-American civil rights movement's black nationalism. The name is taken from a poem by the South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, who bel ...
, a group associated with the Black Arts Movement, performed at Lincoln in 1969 and
Abiodun Oyewole
Abiodun Oyewole (born Charles Davis, February 1948), is a poet, teacher and member of the African-American music and spoken-word group The Last Poets, which developed into what is considered to be the first hip hop group. Critic Jason Ankeny ...
of that Harlem group said Scott-Heron asked him after the performance, "Listen, can I start a group like you guys?"
Scott-Heron returned to New York City, settling in
Chelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The area's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, the Hudson River and West Street to the west, and Sixth Avenue to the east, with its northe ...
. ''The Vulture'' was published by the
World Publishing Company
The World Publishing Company was an American publishing company. The company published genre fiction, trade paperbacks, children's literature, nonfiction books, textbooks, Bibles, and dictionaries,[Writing Seminars at ]Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
, where he received an M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in creative writing in 1972. His master's thesis was titled ''Circle of Stone''. Beginning in 1972, Scott-Heron taught literature and creative writing for several years as a full-time lecturer at University of the District of Columbia
The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1851 and is the only public university in the city. UDC is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall ...
(then known as Federal City College) in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
while maintaining his music career.
Recording career
Scott-Heron began his recording career with the LP ''Small Talk at 125th and Lenox
''A New Black Poet - Small Talk at 125th and Lenox'', also known simply as ''Small Talk at 125th and Lenox'', is the debut album of recording artist Gil Scott-Heron, released in 1970 on Flying Dutchman Records. '' in 1970. Bob Thiele
Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to:
Places
*Mount Bob, New York, United States
*Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica
People, fictional characters, and named animals
*Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
*Bob (surname) ...
of Flying Dutchman Records
Flying Dutchman Records was an American jazz record label, which was owned by music industry executive, producer and songwriter Bob Thiele.
History
Initially distributed by Atlantic Records, Thiele made a five-album deal in 1972 with Mega Recor ...
produced the album, and Scott-Heron was accompanied by Eddie Knowles and Charlie Saunders
Charlie may refer to:
Characters
* "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise
* Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
* ...
on conga
The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...
and David Barnes on percussion and vocals. The album's 14 tracks dealt with themes such as the superficiality of television and mass consumerism, the hypocrisy of some would-be black revolutionaries, and white middle-class ignorance of the difficulties faced by inner-city residents. In the liner notes, Scott-Heron acknowledged as influences Richie Havens
Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style ...
, John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
, Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...
, Jose Feliciano
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
*Jose ben Abin
*Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galilean ...
, Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...
, Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...
, Malcolm X
Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Is ...
, Huey Newton
Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was an African-American revolutionary, notable as founder of the Black Panther Party. Newton crafted the Party's ten-point manifesto with Bobby Seale in 1966.
Under Newton's leadership ...
, Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...
, and long-time collaborator Brian Jackson.
Scott-Heron's 1971 album ''Pieces of a Man
''Pieces of a Man'' is the debut studio album by American poet Gil Scott-Heron. It was recorded in April 1971 at RCA Studios in New York City and released later that year by Flying Dutchman Records. The album followed Scott-Heron's debut live a ...
'' used more conventional song structures than the loose, spoken-word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...
feel of ''Small Talk''. He was joined by Jackson, Johnny Pate as conductor, Ron Carter
Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded nu ...
on bass and bass guitar, drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie
Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul and funk musician. He is known for his precise musical time keeping and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the "Purdie ...
, Burt Jones playing electric guitar, and Hubert Laws
Hubert Laws (born November 10, 1939) is an American flutist and saxophonist with a career spanning over 40 years in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop, and rhythm- ...
on flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
and saxophone, with Thiele producing again. Scott-Heron's third album, ''Free Will'', was released in 1972. Jackson, Purdie, Laws, Knowles, and Saunders all returned to play on ''Free Will
Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded.
Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to actio ...
'' and were joined by Jerry Jemmott
Gerald Stenhouse Jemmott (born March 22, 1946, in the Morrisania section of the Bronx, New York City) is an American bass guitarist. Jemmott was one of the chief session bass guitarists of the late 1960s and early 1970s, working with many of th ...
playing bass, David Spinozza
David Spinozza is an American guitarist and producer. He worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing Taylor's album '' Walkin ...
on guitar, and Horace Ott
Horace Ott (born April 15, 1933) is an American jazz and R&B composer, arranger, record producer, conductor and pianist, noted for his work since the late 1950s with a wide variety of artists including The Shirelles, Don Covay, Nina Simone, Hou ...
(arranger and conductor). Carter later said about Scott-Heron's voice: "He wasn't a great singer, but, with that voice, if he had whispered it would have been dynamic. It was a voice like you would have for Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
."
In 1974, he recorded another collaboration with Brian Jackson, ''Winter in America
''Winter in America'' is a studio album by American vocalist Gil Scott-Heron and keyboardist Brian Jackson. It was recorded in September to October 1973 at D&B Sound Studio in Silver Spring, Maryland and released in May 1974 by Strata-East Reco ...
'', with Bob Adams on drums and Danny Bowens on bass. ''Winter in America'' has been regarded by many critics as the two musicians' most artistic effort. The following year, Scott-Heron and Jackson released '' Midnight Band: The First Minute of a New Day''. In 1975, he released the single "Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
", a rallying cry for the end of apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
in South Africa. The song would be re-issued, in 12"-single form, together with "Waiting for the Axe to Fall" and "B-movie" in 1983.
A live album, '' It's Your World'', followed in 1976 and a recording of spoken poetry, ''The Mind of Gil Scott-Heron'', was released in 1978. Another success followed with the hit single "Angel Dust", which he recorded as a single with producer Malcolm Cecil
Malcolm Cecil (9 January 193728 March 2021) was a British jazz bassist, record producer, engineer and electronic musician. He was a founding member of a leading UK jazz quintet of the late 1950s, the Jazz Couriers, . "Angel Dust" peaked at No. 15 on the R&B charts in 1978.
In 1979, Scott-Heron played at the No Nukes concerts at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
. The concerts were organized by Musicians United for Safe Energy
Musicians United for Safe Energy, or MUSE, is an activist group 1979 in music, founded in 1979 by Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, Harvey Wasserman and John Hall (New York), John Hall. The group advocates anti-nuclear, against the use ...
to protest the use of nuclear energy
Nuclear energy may refer to:
*Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity
* Nuclear binding energy, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom
*Nuclear potential energy
...
following the Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island, Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor in Pennsylvania, United States. It began at 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979. It is the most significant accident in U.S. commercial nuclea ...
. Scott-Heron's song "We Almost Lost Detroit" was included in the '' No Nukes'' album of concert highlights. It alluded to a previous nuclear power plant accident and was also the title of a book by John G. Fuller
John Grant Fuller, Jr. (November 30, 1913 – November 7, 1990) was a New England-based American author of several nonfiction books and newspaper articles, mainly focusing on the theme of extraterrestrials and the supernatural. For many years ...
. Scott-Heron was a frequent critic of President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
and his conservative policies.
Scott-Heron recorded and released four albums during the 1980s: ''1980'' and ''Real Eyes
''Real Eyes'' is an album by the American poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron, released in 1980. It was Scott-Heron's first album since 1970 to be made without input from his musical collaborator Brian Jackson.
The album peaked at No. 159 on the ...
'' (1980), ''Reflections'' (1981) and ''Moving Target'' (1982). In February 1982, Ron Holloway
Ronald Edward Holloway (born August 24, 1953) is an American tenor saxophonist. He is listed in the ''Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'' where veteran jazz critic Ira Gitler described Holloway as a "Hard bear-down-hard-bopper who can blow authe ...
joined the ensemble to play tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...
. He toured extensively with Scott-Heron and contributed to his next album, ''Moving Target'' the same year. His tenor accompaniment is a prominent feature of the songs "Fast Lane" and "Black History/The World". Holloway continued with Scott-Heron until the summer of 1989, when he left to join Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
. Several years later, Scott-Heron would make cameo appearances on two of Ron Holloway's CDs: ''Scorcher'' (1996) and ''Groove Update'' (1998), both on the Fantasy/Milestone label.["Holloway, Ron (Ronald Edward)"](_blank)
''Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians''.
Scott-Heron was dropped by Arista Records
Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...
in 1985 and quit recording, though he continued to tour. The same year he helped compose and sang "Let Me See Your I.D." on the Artists United Against Apartheid
Artists United Against Apartheid was a 1985 protest group founded by activist and performer Steven Van Zandt and record producer Arthur Baker to protest against apartheid in South Africa. The group produced the song " Sun City" and the album ' ...
album '' Sun City'', containing the famous line: "The first time I heard there was trouble in the Middle East, I thought they were talking about Pittsburgh." The song compares racial tensions in the U.S. with those in apartheid-era South Africa, implying that the U.S. was not too far ahead in race relations. In 1993, he signed to TVT Records
TVT Records (Tee-Vee Tunes) was an American record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 24-year history, the label released 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, ...
and released ''Spirits'', an album that included the seminal track "'Message to the Messengers". The first track on the album criticized the rap artists of the day. Scott-Heron is known in many circles as "the Godfather of rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
" and is widely considered to be one of the genre's founding fathers. Given the political consciousness that lies at the foundation of his work, he can also be called a founder of political rap. "Message to the Messengers" was a plea for the new generation of rappers to speak for change rather than perpetuate the current social situation, and to be more articulate and artistic. Regarding hip hop music in the 1990s, he said in an interview:
Later years
Prison terms and more performing
In 2001, Scott-Heron was sentenced to one to three years imprisonment in a New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
prison for possession of cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
. While out of jail in 2002, he appeared on the ''Blazing Arrow
''Blazing Arrow'' is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Blackalicious. It was released on MCA Records on April 30, 2002. It peaked at number 49 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart.
Critical reception
Steve Huey of AllMusic gave the album ...
'' album by Blackalicious
Blackalicious was an American hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. They are noted for Gift of Gab's often tongue-twisting, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's soulful pr ...
. He was released on parole
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
in 2003, the year BBC TV
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...
broadcast the documentary ''Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised''—Scott-Heron was arrested for possession of a crack pipe during the editing of the film in October 2003 and received a six-month prison sentence.
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. He claimed that he left because the clinic refused to supply him with HIV medication. This story led to the presumption that the artist was HIV positive
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...
, subsequently confirmed in a 2008 interview. Originally sentenced to serve until July 13, 2009, he was paroled on May 23, 2007.[
]
After his release, Scott-Heron began performing live again, starting with a show at SOB's
SOB's is a live world music venue and restaurant in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Manhattan. S.O.B.’s is an abbreviation of Sounds of Brazil. Larry Gold started SOBs in June 1982, and he currently still owns the space. Gold opened the ven ...
restaurant and nightclub in New York on September 13, 2007. On stage, he stated that he and his musicians were working on a new album and that he had resumed writing a book titled ''The Last Holiday'', previously on long-term hiatus, about Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
and his successful attempt to have the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
declared a federally recognized holiday in the United States.
Malik Al Nasir
Malik Al Nasir, born Mark Trevor Watson (1966, Liverpool, England) is a British author and performance poet, born to a Welsh mother and a Guyanese father. Malik is the band leader of Malik & the O.G's. Spurred by discovering his striking resem ...
dedicated a collection of poetry to Scott-Heron titled ''Ordinary Guy'' that contained a foreword by Jalal Mansur Nuriddin
Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin (July 24, 1944 – June 4, 2018) was an American poet and musician. He was one of the founding members of The Last Poets, a group of poets and musicians that evolved in the 1960s out of the Harlem Writers Workshop in ...
of The Last Poets
The Last Poets are several groups of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African-American civil rights movement's black nationalism. The name is taken from a poem by the South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, who bel ...
. Scott-Heron recorded one of the poems in Nasir's book entitled ''Black & Blue'' in 2006.
In April 2009, on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
, poet Lemn Sissay
Lemn Sissay FRSL (born 21 May 1967) is a British author and broadcaster. Sissay was the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics, has been chancellor of the University of Manchester since 2015, and joined the Foundling Museum's board of trus ...
presented a half-hour documentary on Gil Scott-Heron entitled ''Pieces of a Man'', having interviewed Gil Scott-Heron in New York a month earlier. ''Pieces of a Man'' was the first UK announcement from Scott-Heron of his forthcoming album and return to form. In November 2009, the BBC's ''Newsnight
''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'' interviewed Scott-Heron for a feature titled ''The Legendary Godfather of Rap Returns''. In 2009, a new Gil Scott-Heron website, gilscottheron.net, was launched with a new track "Where Did the Night Go" made available as a free download from the site.
In 2010, Scott-Heron was booked to perform in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
, Israel, but this attracted criticism from pro-Palestinian activists, who stated: "Your performance in Israel would be the equivalent to having performed in Sun City during South Africa's apartheid era... We hope that you will not play apartheid Israel". Scott-Heron responded by canceling the performance.
''I'm New Here''
Scott-Heron released his album ''I'm New Here
''I'm New Here'' is the 15th and final studio album by American vocalist and pianist Gil Scott-Heron. It was released on February 8, 2010, by XL Recordings and was his first release of original music in 16 years, following a period of personal and ...
'' on independent label XL Recordings
XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group.
Although only releasing an average of six album ...
on February 9, 2010. Produced by XL label owner Richard Russell, ''I'm New Here'' was Scott-Heron's first studio album in 16 years. The pair started recording the album in 2007, with the majority of the record being recorded over the 12 months leading up to the release date with engineer Lawson White
Lawson White is an American audio engineer, record producer, and percussionist based in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He is also the founder and president of Good Child Music. Lawson White is a former member of So Percussion and Alarm Will So ...
at Clinton Studios in New York. ''I'm New Here'' is 28 minutes long with 15 tracks; however, casual asides and observations collected during recording sessions are included as interludes.
The album attracted critical acclaim, with ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s Jude Rogers
Jude Rogers (born 1978) is a Welsh journalist, lecturer, arts critic and broadcaster. She is a music critic for ''The Guardian'' and also regularly writes features and articles for ''The Observer'', ''New Statesman'' and women's magazines such a ...
declaring it one of the "best of the next decade", while some have called the record "reverent" and "intimate", due to Scott-Heron's half-sung, half-spoken delivery of his poetry. In a music review for public radio network NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, Will Hermes stated: "Comeback records always worry me, especially when they're made by one of my heroes ... But I was haunted by this record ... He's made a record not without hope but which doesn't come with any easy or comforting answers. In that way, the man is clearly still committed to speaking the truth". Writing for music website ''Music OMH'', Darren Lee provided a more mixed assessment of the album, describing it as rewarding and stunning, but he also states that the album's brevity prevents it "from being an unassailable masterpiece".
Scott-Heron described himself as a mere participant, in a 2010 interview with ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'':
This is Richard's CD. My only knowledge when I got to the studio was how he seemed to have wanted this for a long time. You're in a position to have somebody do something that they really want to do, and it was not something that would hurt me or damage me—why not? All the dreams you show up in are not your own.
The remix version of the album, ''We're New Here
''We're New Here'' is a remix album by American vocalist Gil Scott-Heron and English music producer Jamie xx, released on February 21, 2011, by Young Turks and XL Recordings. A longtime fan of Scott-Heron, Jamie xx was approached by ...
'', was released in 2011, featuring production by English musician Jamie xx, who reworked material from the original album. Like the original album, ''We're New Here'' received critical acclaim.[We're New Here Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic](_blank)
. Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
In April 2014, XL Recordings announced a third album from the ''I'm New Here'' sessions, titled '' Nothing New''. The album consists of stripped-down piano and vocal recordings and was released in conjunction with Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
on April 19, 2014.
Death
Scott-Heron died on May 27, 2011 in New York City following a trip to Europe. Scott-Heron had confirmed previous press speculation about his health, when he disclosed in a 2008 ''New York Magazine'' interview that he had been HIV-positive for several years, and that he had been previously hospitalized for pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
.
He was survived by his firstborn daughter, Raquiyah "Nia" Kelly Heron, from his relationship with Pat Kelly; his son Rumal Rackley, from his relationship with Lurma Rackley
Lurma M. Rackley (born April 24, 1949)
(January 1, 2009). Retrieved June 11, ...
;["Gil Scott-Heron Remembered as Tortured Genius"](_blank)
, blAck Americaweb (May 31, 2011). Retrieved June 2, 2011. daughter Gia Scott-Heron, from his marriage to Brenda Sykes; and daughter Chegianna Newton, who was 13 years old at the time of her father's death. He is also survived by his sister Gayle; brother Denis Heron, who once managed Scott-Heron; his uncle, Roy Heron; and nephew Terrance Kelly, an actor and rapper who performs as Mr. Cheeks
Terrance Kelly (born March 28, 1971), known professionally as Mr. Cheeks, is an American rapper best known for his work with the musical group Lost Boyz, and as a solo artist with the single "Lights, Camera, Action!".
Biography 1991–2019: L ...
, and is a member of Lost Boyz
Lost Boyz are an American hip hop group from Queens, New York, consisting of MC Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, and K Chrys.
Originally in the early 90's LB consisted of Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, Spigg Nice, and Pretty Lou.
Member K Chrys or “K ...
.
Before his death, Scott-Heron had been in talks with Portuguese director Pedro Costa
Pedro Costa (born 30 December 1958) is a Portuguese film director. He is best known for his sequence of films set in Lisbon, which focuses on the lives of the impoverished residents of a slum in the Fontainhas neighbourhood.
Biography
After com ...
to participate in his film ''Horse Money
''Horse Money'' (Portuguese: ''Cavalo Dinheiro'') is a 2014 Portuguese film directed by Pedro Costa. It premiered in August 2014 at the Locarno International Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Direction. Horse Money is the fourth film ...
'' as a screenwriter, composer and actor.
In response to Scott-Heron's death, Public Enemy
"Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...
's Chuck D stated "RIP GSH...and we do what we do and how we do because of you" on his Twitter account. His UK publisher, Jamie Byng
James Edmund Byng (born 27 June 1969) is a British publisher. He works for the independent publishing firm Canongate Books, where he is the CEO and publisher.
Early life
Byng grew up in the village of Abbots Worthy in Hampshire, England. , called him "one of the most inspiring people I've ever met". On hearing of the death, R&B singer Usher stated: "I just learned of the loss of a very important poet...R.I.P., Gil Scott-Heron. The revolution will be live!!". Richard Russell, who produced Scott-Heron's final studio album, called him a "father figure of sorts to me", while Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
stated: "He influenced all of hip-hop". Lupe Fiasco
Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's ...
wrote a poem about Scott-Heron that was published on his website.
Scott-Heron's memorial service was held at Riverside Church
Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on the block bounded by Riverside Drive, Claremont Avenue, 120th Street and 122nd Street near Columbia University's Mornin ...
in New York City on June 2, 2011, where Kanye West performed "Lost in the World
"Lost in the World" is a song by American hip hop music, hip hop recording artist Kanye West from his fifth studio album, ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' (2010). The song features vocals by Justin Vernon of indie folk band Bon Iver, as well ...
" and "Who Will Survive in America
''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010, following a period of public controversy for West. R ...
", two songs from West's album ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010, following a period of public controversy for West. Re ...
''. The studio album version of West's "Who Will Survive in America" features a spoken-word excerpt by Scott-Heron. Scott-Heron is buried at Kensico Cemetery in Westchester County in New York.
Scott-Heron was honored posthumously in 2012 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous f ...
(NARAS) with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Charlotte Fox, member of the Washington, DC NARAS and president of Genesis Poets Music, nominated Scott-Heron for the award, while the letter of support came from Grammy-winner and Grammy Hall of Fame inductee Bill Withers
William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...
.
Scott-Heron's memoir, ''The Last Holiday'', was published in January 2012. In her review for the ''Los Angeles Times'', professor of English and journalism Lynell George wrote:
''The Last Holiday'' is as much about his life as it is about context, the theater of late 20th century America — from Jim Crow to the Reagan '80s and from Beale Street to 57th Street. The narrative is not, however, a rise-and-fall retelling of Scott-Heron's life and career. It doesn't connect all the dots. It moves off-the-beat, at its own speed ... This approach to revelation lends the book an episodic quality, like oral storytelling does. It winds around, it repeats itself.
Scott-Heron's estate
At the time of Scott-Heron's death, a will could not be found to determine the future of his estate. Additionally, Raquiyah Kelly-Heron filed papers in Manhattan's New York Surrogate's Court
The Surrogate's Court of the State of New York handles all probate and estate proceedings in the New York State Unified Court System. All wills are probated in this court and all estates of people who die without a will are handled in this court ...
in August 2013, claiming that Rumal Rackley was not Scott-Heron's son and should therefore be omitted from matters concerning the musician's estate.
According to the '' Daily News'' website, Rackley, Kelly-Heron and two other sisters were seeking a resolution to the issue of the management of Scott-Heron's estate, as Rackley stated in court papers that Scott-Heron had prepared him to be the eventual administrator of the estate.
Scott-Heron's 1994 album ''Spirits'' was dedicated to "my son Rumal and my daughters Nia and Gia", and in court papers Rackley added that Scott-Heron "introduced me ackley Ackley may refer to:
* Ackley (surname)
* Ackley, Iowa
* Ackley, Wisconsin
* ''Ackley Bridge
''Ackley Bridge'' is a British comedy-drama series set in a multicultural academy school of the same name. The series is filmed in Halifax, West Yor ...
from the stage as his son".
In 2011, Rackley filed a suit against sister Gia Scott-Heron and her mother, Scott-Heron's first wife, Brenda Sykes, as he believed they had unfairly attained US$250,000 of Scott-Heron's money. The case was settled for an undisclosed sum in early 2013; but the relationship between Rackley and Scott-Heron's two adult daughters already had become strained in the months after Gil's death.
In her submission to the Surrogate Court
A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as Orphans' Courts o ...
, Kelly-Heron states that a DNA test
Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, o ...
completed by Rackley in 2011—using DNA from Scott-Heron's brother—revealed that they "do not share a common male lineage", while Rackley has refused to undertake another DNA test since that time. A hearing to address Kelly-Heron's filing was scheduled for late August 2013, but by March 2016 further information on the matter was not publicly available. Rackley continued to serve as court-appointed administrator for the estate, and donated material to the Smithsonian's new National Museum of African American History and Culture for Scott-Heron to be included among the exhibits and displays when the museum opened in September 2016.
The case was decided in December 2018; the Surrogate Court ruled that Rumal Rackley and his half-sisters are all legal heirs, and by the ruling issued in May 2019 Rackley was granted Letters of Administration.
Influence and legacy
Scott-Heron's work has influenced writers, academics and musicians, from indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
ers to rappers. His work during the 1970s influenced and helped engender subsequent African-American music genres, such as hip hop and neo soul
Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...
. He has been described by music writers as "the godfather of rap" and "the black Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
".
''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' writer Greg Kot
Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
comments on Scott-Heron's collaborative work with Jackson:
Together they crafted jazz-influenced soul and funk that brought new depth and political consciousness to '70s music alongside Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
and Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
. In classic albums such as ''Winter in America'' and ''From South Africa to South Carolina'', Scott-Heron took the news of the day and transformed it into social commentary, wicked satire, and proto-rap anthems. He updated his dispatches from the front lines of the inner city on tour, improvising lyrics with an improvisational daring that matched the jazz-soul swirl of the music".
Of Scott-Heron's influence on hip hop, Kot writes that he "presag dhip-hop and infus dsoul and jazz with poetry, humor and pointed political commentary". Ben Sisario
Ben Sisario is an American academic, author, and journalist.
Career
He is a staff reporter for ''The New York Times'', covering music and culture. Sisario is also the author of ''Doolittle'' (2006) a non-fiction book in the 33⅓ series about t ...
of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' writes that "He cott-Heronpreferred to call himself a "bluesologist", drawing on the traditions of blues, jazz and Harlem renaissance poetics". Tris McCall of ''The Star-Ledger
''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...
'' writes that "The arrangements on Gil Scott-Heron's early recordings were consistent with the conventions of jazz poetry – the movement that sought to bring the spontaneity of live performance to the reading of verse".[ McCall, Tris (May 28, 2011)]
"Gil Scott-Heron, poet, rhymer, and inspired protest singer, dead at 62"
. ''The Star-Ledger
''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...
''. Retrieved June 6, 2011. A music writer later noted that "Scott-Heron's unique proto-rap style influenced a generation of hip-hop artists",[Azpiri, Jon. Review: ''Pieces of a Man'' ]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Retrieved July 31, 2009. while ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' wrote that "Scott-Heron's work presaged not only conscious rap and poetry slams, but also acid jazz, particularly during his rewarding collaboration with composer-keyboardist-flutist Brian Jackson in the mid- and late '70s".[Harrington, Richard (June 31, 1998)]
Review: "''The Revolution Will Not Be Televised''"
, ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''. ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
''s Sean O'Hagan
Sean O'Hagan (born 1959) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and arranger who leads the avant-pop band the High Llamas, which he founded in 1992. He is also known for being one half of the songwriting duo (with Cathal Coughlan) in Microdisney and ...
discussed the significance of Scott-Heron's music with Brian Jackson, stating:
Together throughout the 1970s, Scott-Heron and Jackson made music that reflected the turbulence, uncertainty and increasing pessimism of the times, merging the soul and jazz traditions and drawing on an oral poetry
Oral poetry is a form of poetry that is composed and transmitted without the aid of writing. The complex relationships between written and spoken literature in some societies can make this definition hard to maintain.
Background
Oral poetry is ...
tradition that reached back to the blues and forward to hip-hop. The music sounded by turns angry, defiant and regretful while Scott-Heron's lyrics possessed a satirical edge that set them apart from the militant soul of contemporaries such as Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
and Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music. .
Will Layman of PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
wrote about the significance of Scott-Heron's early musical work:
In the early 1970s, Gil Scott-Heron popped onto the scene as a soul poet with jazz leanings; not just another Bill Withers
William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...
, but a political voice with a poet's skill. His spoken-voice work had punch and topicality. "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" and "Johannesburg" were calls to action: Stokely Carmichael
Kwame Ture (; born Stokely Standiford Churchill Carmichael; June 29, 1941November 15, 1998) was a prominent organizer in the civil rights movement in the United States and the global pan-African movement. Born in Trinidad, he grew up in the Unite ...
if he'd had the groove of Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
. 'The Bottle
"The Bottle" is a song by American soul artist Gil Scott-Heron and musician Brian Jackson, released in 1974 on Strata-East Records in the United States. It was later reissued during the mid-1980s on Champagne Records in the United Kingdom. "Th ...
' was a poignant story of the streets: Richard Wright as sung by a husky-voiced Marvin Gaye. To paraphrase Chuck D, Gil Scott-Heron's music was a kind of CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
for black neighborhoods, prefiguring hip-hop by several years. It grew from the Last Poets
The Last Poets are several groups of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African-American civil rights movement's black nationalism. The name is taken from a poem by the South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, who bel ...
, but it also had the funky swing of Horace Silver
Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s.
After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sch ...
or Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
—or Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...
. ''Pieces of a Man'' and ''Winter in America'' (collaborations with Brian Jackson) were classics beyond category".
Scott-Heron's influence over hip hop is primarily exemplified by his definitive single "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", sentiments from which have been explored by various rappers, including Aesop Rock
Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerge ...
, Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...
and Common
Common may refer to:
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Clapham Common, originally com ...
. In addition to his vocal style, Scott-Heron's indirect contributions to rap music extend to his and co-producer Jackson's compositions, which have been sampled by various hip-hop artists. "We Almost Lost Detroit" was sampled by Brand Nubian
Brand Nubian is an American hip hop group from New Rochelle, New York, composed of three emcees ( Grand Puba, Sadat X and Lord Jamar), and formerly three DJs (DJ Alamo, DJ Sincere, and DJ Stud Doogie). Their debut studio album, '' One for All' ...
member Grand Puba
Maxwell Dixon (born March 4, 1964), known professionally as Grand Puba, is an American rapper and emcee, best known as one of the members of the group Brand Nubian from New Rochelle, New York.
Biography
He made his debut as Grand Puba Max ...
("Keep On"), Native Tongues
The Native Tongues were a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and jazz-influenced beats. Its principal me ...
duo Black Star ("Brown Skin Lady"), and MF Doom
Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...
("Camphor"). Additionally, Scott-Heron's 1980 song "A Legend in His Own Mind" was sampled on Mos Def
Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...
's "Mr. Nigga", the opening lyrics from his 1978 recording "Angel Dust" were appropriated by rapper RBX
Eric Dwayne Collins (born October 8, 1969) better known by his stage name RBX (standing for "Reality Born Unknown"), is an American rapper and songwriter from Long Beach, California.
Early life and education
Contrary to popular belief, Collins i ...
on the 1996 song "Blunt Time" by Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...
, and CeCe Peniston
Cecilia Veronica "CeCe" Peniston (; born September 6, 1969) is an American singer and former beauty queen. In the early 1990s, she scored five number one hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play. Her signature song "Finally" rea ...
's 2000 song " My Boo" samples Scott-Heron's 1974 recording "The Bottle
"The Bottle" is a song by American soul artist Gil Scott-Heron and musician Brian Jackson, released in 1974 on Strata-East Records in the United States. It was later reissued during the mid-1980s on Champagne Records in the United Kingdom. "Th ...
".
In addition to the Scott-Heron excerpt used in "Who Will Survive in America", Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
sampled Scott-Heron and Jackson's "Home is Where the Hatred Is" and "We Almost Lost Detroit" for the songs "My Way Home" and "The People", respectively, both of which are collaborative efforts with Common. Scott-Heron, in turn, acknowledged West's contributions, sampling the latter's 2007 single "Flashing Lights" on his final album, 2010's ''I'm New Here''.
Scott-Heron admitted ambivalence regarding his association with rap, remarking in 2010 in an interview for the ''Daily Swarm'': "I don't know if I can take the blame for ap music
Advanced Placement (AP) Music Theory (also known as AP Music or AP Theory) is a course and examination offered in the United States by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program to high school students who wish to earn credit for a ...
. As ''New York Times'' writer Sisario explained, he preferred the moniker of "bluesologist". Referring to reviews of his last album and references to him as the "godfather of rap", Scott-Heron said: "It's something that's aimed at the kids ... I have kids, so I listen to it. But I would not say it's aimed at me. I listen to the jazz station." In 2013, Chattanooga rapper Isaiah Rashad
Isaiah Rashad Joel McClain (born May 16, 1991), is an American rapper. His first big break was performing on the 2012 Smoker's Club Tour with rappers Juicy J, Joey Badass and Smoke DZA among others. He is a founding member of the Chattanooga hip ...
recorded an unofficial mixtape called Pieces of a Kid, which was greatly influenced by Heron's debut album Pieces of a Man.
Following Scott-Heron's funeral in 2011, a tribute from publisher, record company owner, poet, and music producer Malik Al Nasir
Malik Al Nasir, born Mark Trevor Watson (1966, Liverpool, England) is a British author and performance poet, born to a Welsh mother and a Guyanese father. Malik is the band leader of Malik & the O.G's. Spurred by discovering his striking resem ...
was published on ''The Guardian''s website, titled "Gil Scott-Heron saved my life".
In the 2018 film '' First Man'', Scott-Heron is a minor character and is played by soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
singer Leon Bridges
Todd Michael "Leon" Bridges (born July 13, 1989) is an American soul singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2015 song " Coming Home", which received regular airplay and was also a Top 10 Most Viral Track on Spotify. Brid ...
.
He is one of eight significant people shown in mosaic at the 167th Street renovated subway station on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx that reopened in 2019.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Film scores
* ''The Baron'' (1977) — with Brian Jackson and Barnett Williams
Charted songs
Bibliography
Filmography
* ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'', musical guest, December 13, 1975.
* ''Black Wax'' (1982). Directed by Robert Mugge
Robert Mugge (born May 8, 1950) is an American documentary film maker. He has focused primarily on films about music and musicians, but some of his earliest films were not music focused and he is now continuing to branch out as his interests and ...
.
* ''5 Sides of a Coin'' (2004). Directed by Paul Kell
Paul Ernest Kell (July 8, 1915 – May 18, 1977) was a player in the National Football League (NFL).
Biography
Kell was born on July 8, 1915, in Princeton, Indiana. He graduated from University of Notre Dame in 1939. He died on May 18, 1977, at ...
* ''The Revolution Will Not Be Televised'' (2005). Directed by Don Letts for BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
* ''The Paris Concert'' (2007).
* ''Tales of the Amnesia Express Live at the Town & Country'' (1988).
Notes
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Family websiteDiscographyat
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
Textof "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"
Gil Scott-Heron interviewon ''
In Black America
Produced at KUT, ''In Black America'' is a long-running, nationally syndicated program dedicated to all facets of the African American experience. John L Hanson Jr. profiles a diverse selection of current and historically significant figures wh ...
'', October 1, 1984, at the
American Archive of Public Broadcasting
The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and WGBH Educational Foundation, founded through the efforts of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The AAPB is a national effort to digitall ...
"An American Griot: Gil Scott-Heron in Conversation with Don Geesling"at ''
Brooklyn Rail
''The Brooklyn Rail'' is a publication and platform for the arts, culture, humanities, and politics. The ''Rail'' is based out of Brooklyn, New York. It features in-depth critical essays, fiction, poetry, as well as interviews with artists, criti ...
'' (November 2007)
Interview with Gil Scott-Heronat
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, from December 11, 2007
Video interviewGil Scott-Heron interview with Brian Pace, part 1 of 2 with link to part 2. (February 17, 2009) at Vimeo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott-Heron, Gil
1949 births
2011 deaths
20th-century African-American musicians
20th-century American novelists
African-American novelists
African-American poets
American male novelists
American male poets
American musicians of Jamaican descent
American soul musicians
American spoken word poets
Arista Records artists
Burials at Kensico Cemetery
DeWitt Clinton High School alumni
Ethical Culture Fieldston School alumni
Flying Dutchman Records artists
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Johns Hopkins University alumni
Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni
Musicians from Tennessee
Novelists from Illinois
People from Chelsea, Manhattan
People with HIV/AIDS
Poets from Illinois
Rappers from Chicago
RCA Records artists
Strata-East Records artists
TVT Records artists
Writers from Chicago
XL Recordings artists