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Photo of Gil SCOTT-HERON

There are no cute sound bites to sum up the complicated life and times of the late great soul singer and spoken word activist Gil Scott Heron.  Part Malcolm X.  Part John Coltrane.  Poet and Politician, Gil is affectionately called the “godfather of hip-hop.”

His music and books personified the beauty and suffering of African Americans in the 21st century. By exploring social issues over a drum beat, his music became the blueprint for rap music. Eloquent and politically tinged anthems like “The Revolution will Not Be Televised” and “Winter In America” remain relevant and potent decades later.

But even as he warned against alcohol abuse on songs like the classic “The Bottle,” Scott-Heron’s own inner demons eventually led to his own demise. Unsung explores the inspiring, but tragic story of a genius who described himself as a “Black Man dedicated to expression; expression of the joy and pride of Blackness.”