Gil Scott-Heron
died Friday afternoon in New York, his book publisher reported. He was
62. The influential poet and musician is often credited with being one
of the progenitors of hip-hop, and is best known for the spoken-word
piece "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."
Scott-Heron was born in Chicago in 1949.
He spent his early years in Jackson, Tenn., attended high school in The
Bronx, and spent time at Pennsylvania's Lincoln University before
settling in Manhattan. His recording career began in 1970 with the album
Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, which featured the first
version of "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." The track has since
been referenced and parodied extensively in pop culture.
Scott-Heron
continued to record through the 1970s and early '80s, before taking a
lengthy hiatus. He briefly returned to the studio for 1994's Spirits.
That album featured the track "Message to the Messengers," in which
Scott-Heron cautions the hip-hop generation that arose in his absence to
use its newfound power responsibly. He has been cited as a key
influence by many in the hip-hop community — such as rapper-producer Kanye West, who closed his platinum-selling 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy with a track built around a sample of Scott-Heron's voice.
Scott-Heron
struggled publicly with substance abuse in the 2000s, and spent the
early part of the decade in and out of jail on drug possession charges.
He began performing again after his release in 2007, and in 2010
released a new album, I'm New Here, to widespread critical acclaim.
Small feature on us in the Indie Music Section of New City. Check it out.
While having a grand ol' time at the grand opening of the Marquee nightclub in Las Vegas on New Years Eve, Kanye West announced that his joint album with Jay-Z
titled "Watch The Throne" will be released in a week.Q-Tip is working
on his fourth solo CD as well as doing additional work on Kanye and
Jay-Z's upcoming releases.
The fourth quarter will be amazing for new releases. R Kelly, Ronald
Isley, El DeBarge, Eric Benet, Ciara, Michael Jackson (yes Michael
Jackson) and so many more. Can't wait.
Just interviewed Fantasia. She is the cover story in the next issue of
Music Experience - The Magazine. Great sophomore issue coming at you
with more reviews and articles.
Look for Les Nubians to release a new CD this year entitled Nu
Revolution. They previewed several songs recently in NY. Should be
another smash like their well-known release "Makeda".
Usher has upped his
count of #1 records on the Billboard Hot 100 to nine, with
"OMG" moving to the top of the chart this week. Since Usher first led
the Hot 100 during Valentine's Day week 1998 with "Nice & Slow," no
other artist has outpaced his production of #1 songs. Mariah
Carey and Rihanna have the second-most
chart-toppers in that span with six each. Usher last held the top
rung for three weeks in March 2008 with "Love in This Club" featuring Young
Jeezy.
Janet is back in BIG way with a co-starring role and new song from Tyler
Perry's "Why Did I Get Married Too". Check out her new video for the
song "Nothing" on our video page.
Everybody is talking about the Haitian benefit tracks coming by Bono with Jay-Z but don't forget Kirk Franklin has recorded a great song with a host of gospel artists including Mary, Mary, CeCe Winans, Donnie McClurkin and many more to raise money for Haiti with "A Song For Pain"..