Happy Birthday: Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011 )

Gil Scott-Heron became a spokesman for the Black person in America during the Seventies and Eighties. His aggressive, no-nonsense street poetry inspired many of us. He hasn't put out any new music in many years ... but, he remains one of my favorite singers of all time.

Today we pay tribute to this talented and troubled brother on his birthday! Happy Birthday Gil Scott-Heron...





What is your favorite memory of this brother?

Rest In Peace: Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011)

This blog has shared the music of Gil Scott-Heron many times in the past. He is one of my favorite artists of all time ... and has been an influential poet and musician who many think sparked the cultural revolution known as 'hip-hop'.

Gil Scott-Heron died on May 27, 2011. He is best known for "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".





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 new-found power responsibly.

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.

Rest in Peace Gil Scott-Heron!

Happy Cinco de Mayo: Hold On To Your Dream (Gil Scott-Heron)

This seemed like the perfect day to share this musical gem from Gil Scott-Heron!





I guess that not every villager may know what Cinco de Mayo is all about. Cinco de Mayo ... or the fifth of May ... commemorates the Mexican army's 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867). A relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations.

Old School Friday * Gil Scott-Heron

At some point I am going to need to introduce my children to Gil Scott-Heron. The same way that my father introduced me to The Blues on the reel-to-reel tapes that he kept up in his study. Gil Scott-Heron is a griot in every sense of the world. He is a word-magician who first recorded 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' over 35 years ago.


I suspect that Gil Scott-Heron would be at or near the top of a list of my favorite musicians of all time. Rappers today have lyrics that rarely stand the test of time. Scott-Heron has lyrics that will last for generations. That is why I decided to use him as the inspiration for today's Old School Friday post.

What is your favorite song or memory of Gil Scott-Heron?

Wordless Wednesday: Gil Scott-Heron

• Prior Electronic Village posts
  
• Official Website

(Th)ink by Keith Knight: Revolution

(Th)ink is an editorial cartoon written and drawn by cartoonist Keith Knight (the K Chronicles).

Old School Friday: Gil Scott-Heron

Mrs. Grapevine created a remarkable weekly meme known as 'Old School Friday'. The theme for this week is 'Political Songs'. My favorite political artist is Gil Scott-Heron. He laid it on the line after Gerald Ford gave a pardon to Richard Nixon in his spoken word piece known as 'We Beg Your Pardon'.

Of course, if you don't remember Watergate or Vietnam ... then you might not know what this brother is talking about!

Old School Friday: Revolution

The theme for this week's Old School Friday meme is 'Old School Hip Hop'. The theme brings back memories for me. Back in the day, I was a radio DJ at the University of California, Riverside. I was known as the 'Wizard of Soul & Mind'.

Hip Hop was known as Rap back then. Sugarhill Gang, Kurtis Blow, Furious Five, LL Cool J, UTFO, Whodini, Kool Moe Dee, MC Lyte and many others began to explore this new genre of music.

In my view, these brothers and sisters were standing on the shoulders of others who emphasized words and rhymes with their music many years earlier. Do y'all remember Gil Scott-Heron or The Last Poets? If not, then consider this my contribution to your musical education.


Gil Scott-Heron * 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised'


The Last Poets * 'Niggaz Are Scared of Revolution'


If you don't know ... you betta ask somebody!

Old School Friday: Gil Scott-Heron

The theme this week is 'Singers I Want To Be Like'. There are a lot of ways to go with this theme, however, at the end of the day it was simple for me. One of my favorite artists is a brother that many folks nowadays simply don't remember ... Gil Scott-Heron. At some point of my evolution as a blogger I hope to hit as hard with my blog posts as Gil Scot-Heron hits with his lyrics. Here are two examples of Gil Scott-Heron from back in the day...

I Want to be Proud of My Next President

I've voted Democratic for all of my adult life. Ronald Ray-gun was enough for me to realize that the Republicans had no love for me or others of African descent here in America. I enjoyed the Bill Clinton years. What wasn't to enjoy. The federal deficit built up by Reagan and the first George Bush was wiped out during Clinton's administration. I don't need to go through all of the good things that happened during his 8 years as president. His record speaks for itself. The sad thing is that Newt Gingrich, Special Prosecutor Starr and others were so jealous (envious?) of his success that they used a sexual indiscretion with Monica Lewensky to go through an entire impeachment process. As a result, Clinton limped through the final years of his administration.

Fast forward to 2007. Does it seem that karma is in full effect?

Not only is George Bush limping through the final years of his administration. The party that Bush leads loudly proclaims that it is the bastion of 'family values'. What a joke that turned out to be.

• Republican Larry Craig - one of the 100 senators that serve at the top levels of our government ... was arrested at Minneapolis airport in June. Arrest document reportedly alleges Craig signaled desire for "lewd conduct". Craig pleaded guilty to the charges and is currently serving on probation for his efforts to engage in male restroom. Craig had to quit his leadership position in the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney.
• Louisiana Sen. David Vitter - was a client of the 'D.C. Madam' was the way in which the senator himself disclosed it. Vitter was outed by Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt. Vitter's relationship with prostitutes in Washington DC is not unusual. After all, he was accused by a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee of carrying on a lengthy affair with a prostitute in New Orleans's French Quarter in his first Senate campaign. Anyhow, Vitter had to quit his leadership position in the presidential campaign of Rudy Giuliani.
• Florida congressman Mark Foley after being outed as a quasi-pedophile inappropriately reaching out to teenage pages in the House of Representatives. - resigned
• Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield after the Republicans got run out of the congressional leadership as result of the November 2006 mid-term elections. It is likely that Rumsfield will be remembered as the worst Secretary of Defense in the nation's history based on his running of the Iraq War. -fired/resigned
• US Attorney General Albert Gonzales/resigned today after having his honesty and credibility questioned on a daily basis for the past 18 months. My Hispanic brothers and are likly ashamed of Gonzales in much the same way that most Black folks are ashamed of Clarence Thomas. The one advantage that my Hispanic brothers and sisters have is that Gonzales wasn't appointed to a lifetime position, therefore, he can now fade ingloriously into the past. At best, Gonzales was a simple puppet of the White House. At worst, he was a conniving, lying lawyer for George Bush who knowingly lied and connived for purposes of helping his sugar daddy (President George Bush). - fired

Personally, I'm waiting for the next presidency in the hopes that karma is finished and we can have a president that will make all of us proud. My preference would be Barack Obama. I would be comfortable with Clinton or Edwards. I just want the next president to be someone we can look to with pride.

Villagers, what do you think?