Today we are saddened to bring our readers the news of Gil Scott Heron's recent passing. Known as "The Voice of Black Culture", Scott-Heron was a true revolutionary--a poet, musician, and activist best known for his earth shaking spoken word piece "The Revolution Will Not be Televised". He was highly active during the 60s and 70s. Whether he fully admitted it or not, Gill Scott-Heron's work precipitated the arrival of rap and was a deeply strong influence of the style and rhymes of early rap groups such as Public Enemy. His literary and performance work set the stage for the generation of conscious artists and activist that would follow in the 80s and 90s, leading to what we now call Hip-Hop.
If you are unsure of his importance, you can see the numerous homages paid to him on twitter by several famous musicians. You've also probably already enjoyed his presence on the latest Kanye West album My Dark Twisted Beautiful Fantasy, on the ending track "Who Will Surivive in America", which samples his poem of the same name.
Scott-Heron was able to come out with a final act before his passing however. I'm New Here was released on XL Recordings last year, and a remix of the album was recently done by Jamie of the XX. In the video of the album's title track that will appear after the jump you can tell that Scott-Heron retained the grace and poetic wisdom of a true artist even in his older age and after serving a brief prison term. Please enjoy, and rest in peace Mr. Scott-Heron. Your legacy will never fade.
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