Gil Scott-Heron

The overdue return of the voice of reason

While the Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight is almost universally acknowledged as the first-ever rap record, it didn't come from nowhere. Previously there had been the work of pre-rap outfits like the Last Poets and the Watts Prophets; then there was Gil Scott-Heron. A strident critic of the black American experience during the 1970s, his was a rational, bullshit-detecting voice trying to make sense of that most turbulent of decades through his narration of hard-hitting records like Winter In America and The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. Struggles with crack cocaine addiction and spells in prison lessened his impact, but in 2010 he's returned with the neatly titled I'm New Here, a praised-to-the-rafters release that marks his first new record in a tragically unproductive 16 years. The Guardian called it "fiercely alive", before declaring it - despite being just a few months in - one of the records of the new decade. He's back and he deserves your attention.

(Biography by Nige Tassell 2010)