Listen Live
Stone Soul Vendor Graphics
99.3-105.7 Kiss FM
CLOSE

Gil Scott-Heron, 62, a poet and musician best known for spoken-word songs such as “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” died May 27 at a New York City hospital. The Associated Press reported that he became sick upon returning from a European trip.

Cristian Salazar of the Associated Press writes, “ Mr. Scott-Heron was known for work that reflected the fury of black America in the post-civil rights era and also spoke to the social and political disparities in the country. His songs often had incendiary titles – “Home Is Where the Hatred Is,” or “Whitey on the Moon,” and through spoken word and song, he tapped the frustration of the masses.”

He is sometimes called “the Godfather of Rap,” but rejected the title, even though rappers such as Kanye West, Common, and Tupac have sampled his works.

Common’s Controversy: White House Celebration Of Poetry

Salazar also notes a 2008 interview with New York Magazine , in which Scott-Heron said that he had been living with HIV for years and continued to battle an addiction to crack cocaine.

Minority Infants More Likely To Get HIV

In 2008, Marcus Baram of New York Magazine wrote, “Now out on parole again, he says he’s trying to stay clean (“I’m doing my best”), but he remains unrepentant.”

Baram also noted his influence on academia. “His example has been a profound inspiration to me and so many others,” says Princeton University’s Cornel West in the New York Magazine interview. “In terms of fusing the musical with the prophetic and being willing to take a risk or pay a cost in order to lay bare some unsettling truths with such artistic sophistication.”

In December 2010, Scott-Heron was in Washington for a performance at Blues Alley in Georgetown. He performed and toured until his death, releasing a new album in 2010 entitled “I’m New Here,” his first album after a 16-year break from recording.