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Can you say POWERFUL!!!! This UNSUNG episode was ALL THAT and it hit me in so many different ways!

To say Gil Scott Heron was a poet, a musician and a revolutionary is an understatement!!!! 

Spinderella on Gil’s Truth Telling Tongue

Gil was a man who felt the need to tell the truth and he put it OUT there!  While songs of this era were talking about love and romance, he had other subjects on his mind and he talked about them no holds barred!!!!  The TITLES of his songs alone, he was simply shutting it DOWN.  His song “Whitey On The Moon,” COME ON!!!!!!

I really respect that he wasn’t afraid to talk about real world conditions but I definitely wonder what he dealt with for being so truthful!!!  I question if he was afraid to put it out there and what he REALLY went thru behind closed doors for being so truthful.  It takes a hell of a man to do that and he did it! 

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Spinderella  on Gil’s Music, Influence & More

I can see why Gil Scott Heron is called the “Godfather of Hip Hop.”  His influence on CONSCIOUS RAP is undeniable!!!!

My dad had all those Gil albums which I eventually inherited.  I remember the album covers and the music.  The song “Angel Dust,”  really intrigued me as a little girl.  It wasn’t my favorite song because I learned what ‘angel dust’ was but the melody was so inviting and mesmerizing.

The fact that he was on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (SNL) in the early 70s talking about apartheid in his provocative song “Johannesburg” only catapulted   his message of oppression even more and not just locally but nationally and internationally .  He definitely had a message to the masses and for that alone, we should be APPRECIATIVE of his music!

You have to give credit to the artist that sits on the FRONT LINE and Gil was that guy!

One of my favorite Gil Scott Heron song’s is “Home is Where the Hatred Is.”  Ironically they say on Unsung that it was about him??? Was he trying to tell people what he was going thru… I’m not sure?  The judge and jury are still out on that one!!!

Gil’s music is definitely in rotation on my playlist.  “The Bottle” is real groovy!  I do “45” parties once a month and when I spin “The Bottle” it’s always a big hit!  That song has even crossed over to club music as a staple classic club song. 

I have to speak on “The Revolution Will Not be Televised!” In my opinion, this is his most intricate and most famous body of work.  If you weren’t born in that era, chances are you at least HEARD about it.  That song warned you of what was to come.  He was warning those that were “sleeping” and urging people to “wake up!” If that song/poem was written TODAY in 2014, it would STILL make the same sense.  DEEP!!! 

The Clive Davis Phenomenon

It seems like Clive Davis touched EVERY artist that really made a difference in the music industry.  CRAZY right?!!!!  The fact that Gil Scott Heron was the FIRST person that Clive Davis signed under the new label Artista says a lot.  Clive is a visionary- no doubt!  At that time he had his hands in three different worlds so to speak … Barry Manilow, Melissa Manchester and Gil Scott Heron.  And Clive, a white man, did not warp Gil’s message… that in itself shows his visionary talent regarding music.

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Spinderella on Gil’s Life & Legacy

It’s tragic to know that ALL Gil Scott Heron did for his people has been somewhat outshined by his drug addiction but his Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award  in 2012 was very well deserved.  His body of work and what he stood for is how he should be remembered, especially in the hip hop community!

Tune in Wednesday at 10/9c for an all new episode of Unsung and don’t forget to read my blog Thursday AM.

Later!

Spin

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