Gil Scott-Heron

American rapper, pianist, and songwriter

• Born: April 1, 1949
• Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
• Died: May 27, 2011
• Place of death: New York, New York

Though not technically a rapper, Scott-Heron descends from the 1940’s and 1950’s tradition of Beat poets, who recited their social commentary to the accompaniment of music. The ideas of social change reflected in his lyrics have influenced rap groups such as Public Enemy.

Member of The Midnight Band

The Life

Gil Scott-Heron was born in Chicago, the son of a Jamaican professional soccer player and a librarian. His early years were spent in Lincoln, Tennessee, with his maternal grandmother, who taught him about music and how to read, instilling in the child a deep love for music and literature. At the age of fourteen, Scott-Heron was one of three African American children in his school selected to integrate an all-white elementary school in nearby Jackson. The racial prejudice and abuse that he experienced proved overwhelming, and he was sent to live with his mother in New York. These experiences were the genesis of his later writings. As a teenager, Scott-Heron was strongly attracted to literature, especially modern black poetry. He was particularly influenced by the poetry of Langston Hughes and Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones). In 1970, when he was twenty, Scott-Heron published his first novel, The Vulture. This was soon followed by the publication of a book of poetry, Small Talk at 125th and Lenox.

He enrolled in Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania, where he met Brian Jackson, Charlie Saunders, and Eddie Knowles; the four would later become collaborators on Scott-Heron’s recordings as the Midnight Band. In 1974 Scott-Heron signed a contract with Arista Records, and it immediately released the album The First Minute of a New Day with the Midnight Band. This was followed by From South Africa to South Carolina, which included the Top 20 rhythm-and-bluest hit “Johannesburg,” an antiapartheid song. Several other releases followed in the 1970’s and into the 1980’s. He records his poetry raps and songs, and he tours extensively around the world. He is an outspoken critic of the powers in Washington, and he has commented unfavorably about the administrations of President Ronald Reagan and Presidents George H. W. and George W. Bush.

The Music

Scott-Heron has a deep bass voice with a limited melodic range. His keyboard playing consists mostly of chords and arpeggios behind his recitations and singing, leaving other members of his bands to supply the intricate melodic lines. His musical style has been described as a jazz-based urban funk sound behind highly literate black-consciousness lyrics. Scott-Heron and his college friends considered themselves members of the Black Arts movement in the early 1970’s, along with radical poets such as Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Stanley Crouch, the Watts Prophets, and the Last Poets. These artists took part in performances of poetry recited to the accompaniment of percussion and flutes, a spare, dynamic environment for politically charged recitations. As his music grew out of the works of politically oriented jazz musicians who combined elements of rhythm and blues, funk, blues, free jazz, lyrics, and poetry, Scott-Heron helped create a distinct aesthetic in the Black Arts movement. The result was a deeply funky and sophisticated style of music, dramatic and often dissonant, but easily accessible to a wide audience.

Jazz and Funk. Scott-Heron’s first recordings, on the Flying Dutchman label, were accompanied recitations of the poetry in Small Talk at 125th and Lenox. Of special significance for Scott-Heron’s career was the recitation of “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” on his second album, Pieces of a Man. After signing with Arista Records and working with the Midnight Band, he created works that featured more singing and less recitation. Surrounding himself with talented jazz musicians, Scott-Heron found his music taking on more aspects of jazz and of funk. Several of his studio recordings were improvised both musically and lyrically, with Scott-Heron extemporizing his recitations and keeping the rap on track by using note cards to remind him of issues.

Social Comment. Several of Scott-Heron’s songs from the mid-to-late 1970’s dealt with the problems of substance abuse in the black community, particularly “Angel Dust” from Secrets and “The Bottle” from Winter in America. Others are concerned with the problems facing the world’s environment, especially the dangers of nuclear accidents. In this vein, Scott-Heron recorded “Shut ’Em Down,” a call to shut down nuclear reactors, on the album 1980 and “We Almost Lost Detroit,” a song that recounts the nuclear accidents at Three-Mile Island in Pennsylvania and Chernobyl in Russia and a core meltdown at a breeder reactor near Detroit. The latter was recorded on the live MUSE (Musicians United for a Safe Environment) Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future (1979).

A champion of his fellow man, particularly the downtrodden, Scott-Heron has composed songs that draw attention to problems of illegal aliens, such as “Aliens (Hold on to Your Dreams)” on 1980, and to dangerous conditions in prisons, such as “Angola, Louisiana” on Secrets. Some critics consider him to be “the poetic conscience of America.” Political Statements. In 1978 Scott-Heron denounced the administration of Richard Nixon in works such as “H2O Gate Blues” from The Mind of Gil Scott-Heron. Continuing through the 1980’s and 1990’s, Scott-Heron commented on the powers in Washington, D.C., in strongly worded political statements. Several songs and recitations speak out against the era of Reagan. A good example is the recitation “B Movie” from Reflections, in which he mentions by name members of Reagan’s administration: George Bush, Alexander Haig, Casper Weinberger, and more. Scott-Heron continues to be an outspoken and highly literate critic of the political establishment.

Musical Legacy

Scott-Heron’s musical legacy lies in his politically charged poetry and songs, with angry lyrics and dissonant musical accompaniment. While he denies a characterization as the Godfather of Rap, he has been highly influential in the creation of urban political poetry accompanied by music. His poetry and song lyrics have been a huge influence on rap groups such as Public Enemy, who also have helped to raise consciousness toward the problems in black inner-city communities.

Principal Recordings

albums:Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, 1970; Pieces of a Man, 1971; Free Will, 1972; Winter in America, 1973 (with Brian Jackson); The First Minute of a New Day, 1975 (with Jackson); From South Africa to South Carolina, 1976 (with Jackson); Bridges, 1977; Secrets, 1978; 1980, 1979; Real Eyes, 1980; Reflections, 1981; Moving Target, 1982; Spirits, 1994.

writings of interest:The Last Holiday, 2003.

Bibliography

Clifford, Mike. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock. New York: Harmony Books, 1976. The encyclopedia contains a brief entry on Scott-Heron, and it provides a short discography of his albums to 1975.

Light, Alan, ed. The Vibe History of Hip-Hop. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1999. This book of essays contains a few references to Scott-Heron’s influence on the development of rap.

Rose, Tricia. Black Noise. Hanover, N.H.: Wesleyan University Press, 1994. This source has a few sentences on Scott-Heron and the development of rap.

Scott-Heron, Gil. Small Talk at 125th and Lenox. New York: World Publishing, 1970. This book of poetry is the source of the songs and recitations on Scott-Heron’s first album, of the same title, and his second album, Pieces of a Man.