Barry White Meets Noam Chomsky

Singer, poet, and composer Gil Scott-Heron’s hot, silky voice could only come from a true soul guru, making it even more surprising when it rubs up against his sometimes startling lyrical material. No one has ever made anti-nuclear concerns sexy, as Scott-Heron does in “We Almost Lost Detroit.” He’s known as the Father of Hip-Hop, at least partly for the crystalline genius of his best-known song, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” He’s also known as one of the originators of neo-soul. But he’s most recently been on people’s minds for a composition directed at young hip-hop musicians, called “Message to the Messengers.” In it, he does not scold, but issues challenges (about responsibility) and warnings (about selling out) all over the place, while criticizing what we now call the MSM: “They don’t know what to say to our young folks, but they know that you do. If they really knew the truth, why would they tell you?”

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• Gil Scott-Heron
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media
• Hip-Hop and Rap

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