Line #17 Music/GilScottHeron


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dfe5d2306842f71d3b86bad25c83ac46.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: ''Who will survive in America!?'']]
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4	Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American poet who rose to prominence during TheSeventies when he released readings of his {{poetry}} on record, accompanied by congas and bongo drums. This gave these albums the same repeated listenability as regular music. The man was praised for his political and social consciousness. He addressed both racial and social problems within the United States, as elsewhere. He criticized UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan's politics, as well as the [[UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra Apartheid]] system in UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica.
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6	Scott-Heron's importance within the Afro-American and black consciousness movement can't be overstated. He is regarded as a lyricist and ProtestSong writer on the same level as Music/BobDylan. Together with Music/TheLastPoets, he is also seen as a precursor to HipHop, because his [[Creator/TheBeatGeneration beat poetry]] backed by a musical background is very similar to the later practice of rappers doing the same over a sample. As a result he has been cited as an inspirational hero to rappers as diverse as Music/PublicEnemy, Music/{{Usher}}, Music/{{Eminem}}, Music/LupeFiasco and Music/KanyeWest who all refer to him as "the godfather of rap". Naturally, Scott-Heron's voice is SampledUp to this day by ConsciousHipHop and PoliticalRap artists.
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8	His GreatestHitsAlbum ''Music/TheRevolutionWillNotBeTelevised'' (1974) compiles all the best tracks from his previous albums and has become a CultClassic. It was added to the UsefulNotes/NationalRecordingRegistry in 2005. The album title has become so iconic that most people [[PopCulturalOsmosis might not even be aware of its origin]]. Even here on Website/TVTropes it inspired no less than '''five(!)''' [[PunBasedTitle punny titles]]: TheResolutionWillNotBeIdentified, TheRevolutionWillNotBeBureaucratized, TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized and TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified.
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10	!!Albums
11	* ''Music/TheRevolutionWillNotBeTelevised'' (1974)
12	* ''Music/WinterInAmerica'' (with Brian Jackson) (1974)
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14	!! Scott-Heron's work provides examples of
15	* BadassPreacher: His delivery is similar to a sermon, but very cool.
16	* BMovie: "B-Movie", where Scott-Heron compares living in UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan's America to "starring in a B-movie".
17	--> ''The idea concerns the fact that this country wants nostalgia. They want to go back as far as they can - even if it's only as far as last week. Not to face now or tomorrow, but to face backwards. And yesterday was the day of our cinema heroes riding to the rescue at the last possible moment. The day of the man in the white hat or the man on the white horse - or the man who always came to save America at the last moment - someone always came to save America at the last moment - especially in "B" movies. And when America found itself having a hard time facing the future, they looked for people like Creator/JohnWayne. But since John Wayne was no longer available, they settled for Ronald Reagan and it has placed us in a situation that we can only look at -like a "B" movie.''
18	* BookEnds: ''Winter in America'' begins and ends with different versions of the song "Peace Go With You Brother," the second much shorter than the first.
19	* CareerResurrection: After a 16-year hiatus owing to personal and legal issues regarding drug addiction, he reemerged with ''I'm New Here'' an album which re-established him one year before his death.
20	* ConsciousHipHop and PoliticalRap: Scott-Heron's recordings are considered to be a precursor of politically and socially conscious hip hop despite his own ambivalence towards the genre.
21	* CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority: Listen to that voice, brothers!
22	* CoolShades: On the album cover of "Reflections" (1981).
23	* CrapsackWorld: The very reason Scott-Heron started writing poetry.
24	* DrugsAreBad: "Home Is Where The Hatred" is about an AddledAddict trying to quit, and "The Bottle" follows several characters whose lives were ruined by [[TheAlcoholic alcoholism]].
25	* UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHipHop: He is seen as proto-hiphop, but despite his influence on the genre, Scott-Heron was very critical of a lot of rappers, whom he saw as people who didn't focus on a good balance between vocal delivery and music enough and did more posing than actually engaging in action.
26	* MyCountryTisOfTheeThatISting: Scott-Heron didn't shy away from addressing the problems in his home country.
27	* NewSoundAlbum: ''I'm New Here'', which moved away from the jazz-funk sound and agitprop lyrics in favor of a minimalist, electronic sound and more personal, introverted lyrics.
28	* ProtestSong: Virtually every track he ever recorded was a protest song.
29	* RebelliousSpirit: He has become an icon to the Afro-American empowerment movement.
30	* RemixAlbum: Two, ''We're New Here'' with [[Music/TheXX Jamie xx]] and ''We're New Again'', a "reimagining" by jazz saxophonist Makaya [=McCraven=].
31	* {{Sampling}}: "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" has been sampled by Music/PublicEnemy on ''Music/ItTakesANationOfMillionsToHoldUsBack'' and Music/KanyeWest on ''Music/MyBeautifulDarkTwistedFantasy''.
32	* SelfDeprecation: Didn't put on airs about his singing:
33	-->''This is called "The Vulture" and a lot of people think it's a poem. And after they hear me sing it, they're sure it's a poem.''
34	* SeventiesHair: An Afro. Probably not a [[FunnyAfro funny one]], but perhaps an [[AfroAsskicker ass-kicking one]].
35	* SpokenWordInMusic: He mostly recited his poetry instead of singing it, but it still came across as singing, because of the musical accompaniment in the background.
36	* TakeThat: "B-Movie" was aimed at UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan's administration. "H20 Gate Blues" is a diatribe about UsefulNotes/RichardNixon.

Context Music / GilScottHeron