We Almost Lost Detroit

Plenty has been said and written of late about Gil Scott-Heron, following his sad, recent passing on May 27th, and plenty more will rightfully be still to come. All of the praise, the implied importance and hyperbole are no mere exaggeration. The man was a writer and a wordsmith, who saw the world's problems and called them out, and in true artistic style then succombed himself to many of the social ills which had been the targets of his lyrics. In speaking out about the state of Black America, he was often baring his own inadequecies.

It is impossible to over-emphasise Scott-Heron's pivotally important role in the development of music in America. Small Talk at 125th and Lenox (1970) is effectively the first rap album, and his next two albums were pure jazz-funk (Pieces of a Man and Free Will). The sounds and intent of his work can be heard within hundreds of subsequent artists.

I count myself truly lucky to have seen him live in concert, only just last Autumn in Brixton. A fan since my teens, I even used one of his song titles as the title of my thesis. His voice, not one of a singer but instead of a great orator, held you riveted as he merged seamlessly from tales into tracks and onwards to personal recollections. Having just released a highly-anticipated new album (I'm New Here), he even felt bold enough to leave 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' out of the set list, and the gig was no lesser for it.

And if you think that Gil Scott-Heron is no longer important to music, check out what happens when his material influences and is used by current artists:

Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx -- 'NY is Killing Me'