Along with The Last Poets, American musician & poet Gill Scott-Heron is the most important “proto-rapper” of the last five decades. I’m New Here is his first album in 13yrs…
Gil Scott-Heron first came to prominence in the late ‘60s & early ‘70s & is cited as a supreme influence on countless hip hop vocalists & producers, from Chuck D to Mos Def to Kanye West & plenty more besides.
Throughout a career spanning five decades, Scott-Heron’s deep, soulful voice spoke of nuclear weapons, Reaganomics or apartheid, always from deep inside the tradition.
In 1971 he effectively laid out the blueprint for the whole rap genre with his slinky, bad-ass anthem The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (on which the then 23yr old poetically dismantled the entire ‘70s “culture” of the time).
Despite an incredible & influential body of work, Scott-Heron has not released an album since the 1990s… until now, with XL Recordings about to drop a landmark recording, with I’m New Here.
Produced by XL label owner Richard Russell, I’m New Here sees Scott-Heron reflecting on his life with his trademark vocal power & insight, sharing his visions among Russell’s flickering, electronic soundscapes; which at various times conjure up thoughts of Burial & The XX, as well as a host of hip hop influenced sounds.
