Gil Scott-Heron, R.I.P.

“Turn around. You may come full circle. And be new here. Again.”

Pieces of a Man was actually one of the first LPs I ever bought after getting my first pair of turntables, because I wanted to own and spin “The Revolution will not be Televised.” You could feasibly argue that he invented hip-hop, and people wouldn’t even look at you weird. (Unless they didn’t know who he was, which, sadly…) He was a trailblazer, an inspiration, and, too often, a tragic figure.

His album I’m New Here came out in February of last year, his first in 16 years. Then, in February of this year, he and Jamie Smith (aka Jamie xx) of the xx released We’re New Here, a collaborative remix of I’m New Here. It seemed like Gil was poised to reenter the spotlight and our consciousness. But one listen of his tragically prescient album makes it clear that the Reaper really was knocking on his door.

We’re going to talk about both albums on Friday.

Gil was 62. R.I.P.

“I’m New Here” (2010)

“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” (1970)

“The Bottle” (1974)

Richard Russell of XL, Scott-Heron’s label, posted a tribute here, which included the following:

I have shared some of the best experiences of my life with Gil, and I feel so priveleged to have known him. In that last conversation we had, he advised me not to change who I was just because I had the opportunity to. With that I spent the rest of the day vinyl shopping. Rest In Peace Gil