Gil Scott-Heron

Birth name: Gilbert Scott-Heron
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USA
April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011
Years Active: 1969 – 2011

Acclaimed as “one of the most important progenitors of Rap music,” Gil Scott-Heron forged a radicalized vision of the world with deep roots in the Black Power movements of the late 1960s. A poet, songwriter, musician, and author, his music bridged and blended numerous popular music styles and was a strong influence in the development of Hip Hop. He came to prominence in the early 1970s, most notably with, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” a provocative 1970 poem from his debut album Small Talk at 125th and Lenox. Scott-Heron also made a string of albums with keyboardist Brian Jackson that influenced the “Neo Soul” movement of the 1990s, as represented by Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, and others.

Born in Chicago but soon living in Tennessee, Scott-Heron moved to New York City when he was 12. He showed an early aptitude for creative writing and won a scholarship to a local private school. While attending Lincoln University in Pennsylvania (the alma mater of his hero Langston Hughes), he met Jackson, and the two formed a band called Black & Blues.

Scott-Heron eventually left school to write two novels, then returned to New York City. In 1970, through the publisher of his novel The Vulture, he was introduced to legendary Jazz producer Bob Thiele, who owned a small label called Flying Dutchman. With no budget for a full band, he agreed to record a spoken word album. Small Talk at 125th and Lenox was recorded live with Scott-Heron performing a spoken word set backed by multiple percussionists. The recordings captured the fire and intensity of Scott-Heron’s poetry — a stinging narrative flow vivid with tales of urban horror, social injustice, and personal struggle, delivered in a deep, stentorian voice honed on New York’s downtown coffeehouse scene.

Scott-Heron had a band for the follow-up album, Pieces of a Man – an influential record now recognized as a touchstone for modern Hip Hop. Joined by Jackson and a group of superb session players, Scott-Heron explored Blues and Jazz influences in his singing voice, which he brought to bear on songs like “Home Is Where the Hatred Is” and “Lady Day and John Coltrane.”

Scott-Heron made one more album for Flying Dutchman before moving on in 1973. The following year, he released Winter in America with Jackson, which established the pair as a collaborative force in politically-minded Soul music. They signed to the major label Arista Records in 1975, releasing a series of critically praised and commercially successful albums that explored the “bluesology” themes cited by Scott-Heron as central to his philosophy. It’s Your World, a double LP released in 1976, cataloged the anger and malaise of post-Watergate America, while the title song to 1980 was a Funk groove on a dystopian future that chronicled the reactionary policies of the Reagan era before they happened.

Scott-Heron’s recorded work tapered off in the early ’80s as he focused on live performances and other creative projects. He didn’t release another album until 1994’s Spirits. In the years to follow, his struggle with drug addiction resulted in convictions and incarceration, and he receded from the spotlight. He began performing again in 2007 and he released a new album, the confessional I’m New Here in 2010.

Scott-Heron died in 2011, drawing eulogies of praise from Public Enemy’s Chuck D, KRS-One, Kanye West, Eminem, and many other music stars, writers, and admirers. His memoir, The Last Holiday, was published posthumously in 2012, and he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award the same year.