"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," by Gil Scott-Heron

I have written about Gil Scott-Heron's legal troubles and about a show I saw him do in London.

I think Scott-Heron's influence on American music in the 1970s is directly responsible for the success of rap music. And I mean the vital rap movement of the 1970s and 1980s, not the so-called hip-hop scene we know today that exists only for marketing purposes. There is no 'soul' in hip-hop, there is only cash, guns and bad jewelry. Rap, on the other hand, had soul. It was vital, it was alive. And if Gil Scott-Heron hadn't made his records, I truly believe that rap never could have be born.

Official promo for Gil Scott Heron's collected lyrics and poems, Now and Then, published by Canongate Books. Produced by Peter Collingridge and directed by Julian House (Intro) in 2001:


Or see it at youtube.com.




Dick Mac Recommends:

Now & Then
Gil Scott-Heron