Poet, author and musician Gil Scott-Heron has died at age 62 on Friday May 27th. He died in New York, in St. Luke’s Hospital after falling ill on returning home from a trip to Europe.
His U.K. Publisher Jamie Byng Tweeted ‘Just heard the very sad news that my dear friend and one of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met, the great Gil Scott-Heron, died today’. The news has been felt throughout the Hip-Hop community with artists such as Eminem, Chuck D and many more Tweeting on the loss of this influential great.
Gil Scott-Heron has always been credited for his influences on the art of rapping and was hailed as the ‘Godfather of Rap’ after penning the classic 1971 ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’, a strong political, social and honest take on society. A piece that has had a major impact on Hip-Hop culture. Scott-Heron preferred to describe his craft as ‘Bluesology’, a fusion of Poetry, Soul, Blues and Jazz, cut with social conscience and political messages.
‘If the right of free speech is truly what it’s supposed to be, then anything you say is all right’.
His work has been sampled greatly in Hip-Hop by Kanye West, Common, Tupac Shakur, The Game and many more, an ode to the greatness of his music. His track ‘The Bottle’ is one of his most sampled and well known tracks. He released a number of influential albums with musician Brian Jackson including Small Talk At 125th And Lenox, Pieces Of A Man, Winter in America and From South Africa To South Carolina.
