(RIP) Gil Scott-Heron, Called Godfather of Rap, Dies at 62

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African American, Gil Scott-Heron, Jazz, Poet, Rap, SInger

Gil Scott-Heron

Gil Scott-Heron, the poet, singer and author who rejected the title often given him as the “Godfather of Rap” because he said rap “is aimed at the kids,” has died in New York City. He was 62.

He had spent much of the last two decades battling drug addiction and in and out of prison before releasing an album last year, “I’m New Here,” that brought him something of a comeback.

Doris Nolan, a friend of Scott-Heron’s told The Associated Press, “We’re all sort of shattered.”

From his first album, “125th and Lenox,” released in 1970, Scott-Heron was a unique and powerful voice in American music.

At a time when popular music was moving away from the anthems of protest of the ’60s, Scott-Heron, with his hard-edged but somehow tender, aching voice, gave an unflinching yet poetic look at the realities of inner-city life at a time when the hopes of the civil rights movement were battered in the anger of riots and the ravages of spreading drug addiction. –By LAUREN VANCE and DEAN SCHABNER

:: SOURCE: ABC.com ::..

Gil Scott-Heron | I’m New Here

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African American, Gil Scott-Heron

Gil Scott-Heron | I’m New Here – [XL Recording – 2010]

Gil Scott Heron - I'm New Here

Gil Scott-Heron is one of the most influential and important singer/songwriters to have come out of America in the second half of the last century. Much can be said about why this Gil’s lyrics are so original and powerful but ,it is important not to overlook his utterly singular voice which is so distinctive and rough and tender. It is a voice of experience. A new record from Gil Scott-Heron, forty years after his first solo album, is a cause for major celebration and something that the world needs now more than ever.

On 8th /9th February 2010, Gil Scott-Heron will release his new album “I’m New Here” on groundbreaking independent label XL Recordings. Produced by XL label owner Richard Russell, “Im New Here” is Scott-Heron’s first album in thirteen years.

“I’m New Here” sees Scott-Heron reflecting on his life with his trademark vocal power and insight, sharing his visions among Russell’s flickering, electronic soundscapes.

The pair started recording the album in 2007, with the majority of the record being recorded over the last twelve months in New York at Clinton Studios.

Release Date: 2/9/2010

..:: Source: Amazon.com ::..