If James Brown is Godfather of Soul and Aretha Franklin the Queen of Soul then Gill Scott-Heron must be the Godfather of Rap/Hip-Hop, also portrayed as The Black Dylan!
When you think Of Scott-Heron I guess the songs that immediately spring to mind are The Bottle, Johannesburg, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Pieces Of A Man, Winter In America others include Lady Day And John Coltrane, Home Is Where The Hatred Is, Beg Your Pardon America, When You Are Who Are You Are or Inner City Blues.
If you're new to Scott-Heron's music then you couldn't do better than pick up a 3 CD compilation (also available on digital but not vinyl) The Revolution Begins (The Flying Dutchman Masters) which consists of his complete Flying Dutchman catalogue.
Here's a documentary film 'Who Is Gil Scott-Heron' by XL Recordings originally released to coincide with the 2010 release of his first album for 16 years 'I'm New Here' just a year before his death. It has been re-released (2020) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the album.
Gil Scott-Heron [1981] - "B" Movie [Arista #AS 0647]
Sadly, everything he says in this 'message' song from 1981 about the state of politics (Ronald Regan) is still true today. Just imagine what he'd have written about Trump had he lived to see the day!
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