Gil Scott-Heron (born April 1, 1949 in Chicago, died May 27, 2011 in New Yo… Read Full Bio ↴Gil Scott-Heron (born April 1, 1949 in Chicago, died May 27, 2011 in New York City) was an American poet and musician, known primarily for his late 1960s and early 1970s work as a spoken word performer, associated with African American militant activists. Heron is perhaps most well known for his poems/songs "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" and "What's the Word - Johannesburg" a movement hit during the 1980's South Africa college and national divestment movement in the United States of America.
He began recording in 1970 with the LP Small Talk at 125th and Lenox with the assistance of Bob Thiele Flying Dutchman Records, co-writer Brian Jackson, Hubert Laws, Bernard Purdie (who later recorded "Delights of the Garden" with The Last Poets), Charlie Saunders, Eddie Knowles, Ron Carter and Bert Jones, all jazz musicians (see 1970 in music). The album included the aggressive diatribe against white-owned corporate media and middle-class America's ignorance of the problems of inner cities in songs such as Whitey On The Moon.
The 1971 Pieces of a Man used more conventional song structures than the loose, spoken word feel of his first, though he didn't reach the charts until 1975 with "Johannesburg". His biggest hit was 1978's "The Bottle", produced by Heron and longtime partner Brian Jackson, which peaked at #15 on the R&B charts (see 1978 in music).
In 2001, Gil Scott-Heron was sentenced to one to three years' imprisonment in New York State for possession of cocaine. While out of jail in 2002, he appeared on the Blazing Arrow album by Blackalicious. He was released on parole in 2003. On July 5, 2006, Scott-Heron was sentenced to two to four years in a New York State prison for violating a plea deal on a drug-possession charge by leaving a drug rehabilitation center. Scott-Heron's sentence was to run until July 13, 2009. He was paroled on May 23, 2007. The reason given for the violation of his plea was that the clinic refused to supply Scott-Heron with HIV medication. This story led to the presumption that the artist is HIV positive.
After his release, Scott-Heron began performing live again, starting with a show at SOBs in New York on September 13, 2007. On stage, he stated that he and his musicians were working on a new album and that he had resumed writing a book titled The Last Holiday, previously on long-term hiatus, about Stevie Wonder and his successful attempt to have the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. declared a federally recognized holiday in the United States.
He was arrested October 10, 2007, the day before a scheduled (but ultimately cancelled) second SOBs performance, on felony possession of cocaine charges. However, he has continued to make live appearances at various US venues during the course of 2008 and 2009, including further appearances at SOBs in New York. He has also stated in interviews that work is continuing on his new album, which will consist mainly of new versions of some of his classic songs plus some cover versions of other artists' work.
Having originally planned to publish The Last Holiday in 2003, before it was put on hold, Canongate Books now tentatively intend to issue it in January, 2011. The book was due to be previewed via a website set to be launched on April 1, 2009, but this did not appear.
Mark T. Watson, a student of Scott-Heron's work, dedicated a collection of poetry to Gil titled Ordinary Guy that contained a foreword by Jalal Mansur Nuriddin of The Last Poets. The book was published in the UK in 2004 by Fore-Word Press Ltd. Scott-Heron recorded one of the poems in Watson's book Black & Blue due for release in 2008 as part of the album Rhythms of the Diaspora by Malik & the OG's on the record label CPR Recordings.
Gil Scott-Heron released his new album I'm New Here on independent label XL Recordings on February 9, 2010. Produced by XL label owner Richard Russell, 'I'm New Here' is Scott-Heron's first album in thirteen years.The pair started recording the album in 2007, with the majority of the record being recorded over the last twelve months with engineer Lawson White at Clinton Studios in New York. In 2009, a new Gil Scott-Heron website, www.gilscottheron.net , was launched with a brand new track 'Where Did The Night Go' made available as a free download from the site.
In 2011, Scott-Heron released "We're New Here" a remix album which was a collaboration with Jamie xx, a member of the British indie band The xx. Scott-Heron died in New York City on May 27, 2011.
He began recording in 1970 with the LP Small Talk at 125th and Lenox with the assistance of Bob Thiele Flying Dutchman Records, co-writer Brian Jackson, Hubert Laws, Bernard Purdie (who later recorded "Delights of the Garden" with The Last Poets), Charlie Saunders, Eddie Knowles, Ron Carter and Bert Jones, all jazz musicians (see 1970 in music). The album included the aggressive diatribe against white-owned corporate media and middle-class America's ignorance of the problems of inner cities in songs such as Whitey On The Moon.
The 1971 Pieces of a Man used more conventional song structures than the loose, spoken word feel of his first, though he didn't reach the charts until 1975 with "Johannesburg". His biggest hit was 1978's "The Bottle", produced by Heron and longtime partner Brian Jackson, which peaked at #15 on the R&B charts (see 1978 in music).
In 2001, Gil Scott-Heron was sentenced to one to three years' imprisonment in New York State for possession of cocaine. While out of jail in 2002, he appeared on the Blazing Arrow album by Blackalicious. He was released on parole in 2003. On July 5, 2006, Scott-Heron was sentenced to two to four years in a New York State prison for violating a plea deal on a drug-possession charge by leaving a drug rehabilitation center. Scott-Heron's sentence was to run until July 13, 2009. He was paroled on May 23, 2007. The reason given for the violation of his plea was that the clinic refused to supply Scott-Heron with HIV medication. This story led to the presumption that the artist is HIV positive.
After his release, Scott-Heron began performing live again, starting with a show at SOBs in New York on September 13, 2007. On stage, he stated that he and his musicians were working on a new album and that he had resumed writing a book titled The Last Holiday, previously on long-term hiatus, about Stevie Wonder and his successful attempt to have the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. declared a federally recognized holiday in the United States.
He was arrested October 10, 2007, the day before a scheduled (but ultimately cancelled) second SOBs performance, on felony possession of cocaine charges. However, he has continued to make live appearances at various US venues during the course of 2008 and 2009, including further appearances at SOBs in New York. He has also stated in interviews that work is continuing on his new album, which will consist mainly of new versions of some of his classic songs plus some cover versions of other artists' work.
Having originally planned to publish The Last Holiday in 2003, before it was put on hold, Canongate Books now tentatively intend to issue it in January, 2011. The book was due to be previewed via a website set to be launched on April 1, 2009, but this did not appear.
Mark T. Watson, a student of Scott-Heron's work, dedicated a collection of poetry to Gil titled Ordinary Guy that contained a foreword by Jalal Mansur Nuriddin of The Last Poets. The book was published in the UK in 2004 by Fore-Word Press Ltd. Scott-Heron recorded one of the poems in Watson's book Black & Blue due for release in 2008 as part of the album Rhythms of the Diaspora by Malik & the OG's on the record label CPR Recordings.
Gil Scott-Heron released his new album I'm New Here on independent label XL Recordings on February 9, 2010. Produced by XL label owner Richard Russell, 'I'm New Here' is Scott-Heron's first album in thirteen years.The pair started recording the album in 2007, with the majority of the record being recorded over the last twelve months with engineer Lawson White at Clinton Studios in New York. In 2009, a new Gil Scott-Heron website, www.gilscottheron.net , was launched with a brand new track 'Where Did The Night Go' made available as a free download from the site.
In 2011, Scott-Heron released "We're New Here" a remix album which was a collaboration with Jamie xx, a member of the British indie band The xx. Scott-Heron died in New York City on May 27, 2011.
Aint No New Thing
Gil Scott-Heron Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
We'd like to go into a thing called, um
"Ain't
No New Thing" It's, um, based on, um
The fact that white people continue to
To rip off black artists they
Continue to, um, um, steal
Their material, their styles
The very cultural
Elements that make the black
Artist the outstanding artist, the
Master of music that he has been um
And it ain't no
New thing, to tell the truth
That these things are going
On we point out, very
Expressly, the fact that, um stanley Crouch
Comments on his album Ain't No Ambulances
For No Nigguhs Tonight that
Uh, Chuck Berry was doing, like
A very heavy thing
A very rock and roll thing
The king of rock and
Roll as a matter of fact but, um, like
White people
Couldn't dig having their daughters go
To no shows and cream
Over no black man wiggling on
The stage, so, consequently, they
Invented Elvis Presley and let him
Do it so we wanna
Get into that, call it "Ain't No New Thing
" and talk about some people
Cultural rape and no geographical
Boundaries on white hate and bizarre
Scarcely concealed attempts to eliminate
Black generators of sun heat feeling
Ain't no new thing to see demon
Fangs curling out from under
Squeezed-tight, too-thin lips and leaping at
Jugular veins and burning black
Throats that either
Blow or sing or cry or scream
Ain't no new thing to see the bubbling
Envy flashing from the depths of
Soulless eyes
As still another link with God is created
We're used to having white people
Try to rob us why don't they try stealing
Some of this poverty? Ain't no new thing
Anything they can't understand
They try to destroy
Anything they can't understand
They try to control in 1896
Black men picked up brass instruments
And began to evoke and conjure
Entice and struggle with black spirit's
Rhythmic spirit's of blues, work songs
Gospel songs, freedom songs
And songs of love of mother night
Screaming rhythm, juju rhythm, voodoo rhythm
Black, black magic that calls
Back to lost worlds and lost lifestyles
Calling back to lost peace and peace of mind
Calling back to Genesis
Calling back to the drum
Calling back to the drum
Calling back to the first song chant
Song chant, song
Chant that original man created
In 1896, this new spasm was called "Ass"
But the "Ass" would not be kicked
So it was copied in an attempt to control it
And then it was called "Jazz"
We're used to having black innovators copied
And sent back to us
What about the Osmond Brothers?
What about Elvis Presley?
What about Tom Jones?
We're used to having people try to rob us
It ain't no new thing
They use the media to
Project their jazz idols
Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey
And Harry James and Benny Goodman
And I suppose, someday
Lawrence Welk will join that elite group
And then there was sweet Bessie Smith
Laying on the blood-soaked backseat of
That broken down jalopy
With a tattered quilt wrapped
Around her shoulders
Waiting for someone to come to her
Aid on a rainy Mississippi night
While a white hospital would not accept
Her right across the street
Ain't no new thing
Fats Navarro screaming through
Tormenting dreams
Frustration ripping at his mind and bowels
Over a hundred pounds melted from his frame
As he battled that white powder mountain
Ain't no new thing
Cultural rape and no geographical
Boundaries on white hate
Hired black musicians away in
Funky smoke-filled nightclubs
The Chitlin' Circuit
Saturate their world with
Two-bit punks, washed-out
Baggy-faced white whores
Weasel-faced, yellow-skinned junkies
And cutthroat white managers
Producers, agents, owners
And on and on and on
We're used to having white people
Try to rob us
Ain't no new thing we have dug his game
Charlie Parker will live on
John Coltrane will live on
Eric Dolphy will live on
Billie Holiday will live on
Jimi Hendrix and Clifford Brown and
Lee Morgan will live on
And on in the sunshine
Of their accomplishments
The glory of the dimensions that
They added to our lives
We declare war on Eric Burdon!
We discredit the talents of Janis
Joplin and Rare Earth!
We urge that the next blue-eyed soul group
Include Melvyn Layer, Lyndon Johnson, Nixon
And Spearhead Agnew
And be called As the Stomach Turns
We urge that the album: John Wayne
Sings the Blues be released!
Release the album: J edgar
Hoover Sings James Brown!
Release the album: Wallace and Maddox
Sing Sam and Dave! Why not?
We hear Tony the Tiger saying "Right on
Tiger!" we heard Nixon talking about
"Power to the people"
It ain't no new thing
It ain't no new thing
It ain't no new thing
It ain't no new thing
America is always the same old shit!
"Ain't
No New Thing" It's, um, based on, um
The fact that white people continue to
To rip off black artists they
Continue to, um, um, steal
Their material, their styles
The very cultural
Artist the outstanding artist, the
Master of music that he has been um
And it ain't no
New thing, to tell the truth
That these things are going
On we point out, very
Expressly, the fact that, um stanley Crouch
Comments on his album Ain't No Ambulances
For No Nigguhs Tonight that
Uh, Chuck Berry was doing, like
A very heavy thing
A very rock and roll thing
The king of rock and
Roll as a matter of fact but, um, like
White people
Couldn't dig having their daughters go
To no shows and cream
Over no black man wiggling on
The stage, so, consequently, they
Invented Elvis Presley and let him
Do it so we wanna
Get into that, call it "Ain't No New Thing
" and talk about some people
Cultural rape and no geographical
Boundaries on white hate and bizarre
Scarcely concealed attempts to eliminate
Black generators of sun heat feeling
Ain't no new thing to see demon
Fangs curling out from under
Squeezed-tight, too-thin lips and leaping at
Jugular veins and burning black
Throats that either
Blow or sing or cry or scream
Ain't no new thing to see the bubbling
Envy flashing from the depths of
Soulless eyes
As still another link with God is created
We're used to having white people
Try to rob us why don't they try stealing
Some of this poverty? Ain't no new thing
Anything they can't understand
They try to destroy
Anything they can't understand
They try to control in 1896
Black men picked up brass instruments
And began to evoke and conjure
Entice and struggle with black spirit's
Rhythmic spirit's of blues, work songs
Gospel songs, freedom songs
And songs of love of mother night
Screaming rhythm, juju rhythm, voodoo rhythm
Black, black magic that calls
Back to lost worlds and lost lifestyles
Calling back to lost peace and peace of mind
Calling back to Genesis
Calling back to the drum
Calling back to the drum
Calling back to the first song chant
Song chant, song
Chant that original man created
In 1896, this new spasm was called "Ass"
But the "Ass" would not be kicked
So it was copied in an attempt to control it
And then it was called "Jazz"
We're used to having black innovators copied
And sent back to us
What about the Osmond Brothers?
What about Elvis Presley?
What about Tom Jones?
We're used to having people try to rob us
It ain't no new thing
They use the media to
Project their jazz idols
Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey
And Harry James and Benny Goodman
And I suppose, someday
Lawrence Welk will join that elite group
And then there was sweet Bessie Smith
Laying on the blood-soaked backseat of
That broken down jalopy
With a tattered quilt wrapped
Around her shoulders
Waiting for someone to come to her
Aid on a rainy Mississippi night
While a white hospital would not accept
Her right across the street
Ain't no new thing
Fats Navarro screaming through
Tormenting dreams
Frustration ripping at his mind and bowels
Over a hundred pounds melted from his frame
As he battled that white powder mountain
Ain't no new thing
Cultural rape and no geographical
Boundaries on white hate
Hired black musicians away in
Funky smoke-filled nightclubs
The Chitlin' Circuit
Saturate their world with
Two-bit punks, washed-out
Baggy-faced white whores
Weasel-faced, yellow-skinned junkies
And cutthroat white managers
Producers, agents, owners
And on and on and on
We're used to having white people
Try to rob us
Ain't no new thing we have dug his game
Charlie Parker will live on
John Coltrane will live on
Eric Dolphy will live on
Billie Holiday will live on
Jimi Hendrix and Clifford Brown and
Lee Morgan will live on
And on in the sunshine
Of their accomplishments
The glory of the dimensions that
They added to our lives
We declare war on Eric Burdon!
We discredit the talents of Janis
Joplin and Rare Earth!
We urge that the next blue-eyed soul group
Include Melvyn Layer, Lyndon Johnson, Nixon
And Spearhead Agnew
And be called As the Stomach Turns
We urge that the album: John Wayne
Sings the Blues be released!
Release the album: J edgar
Hoover Sings James Brown!
Release the album: Wallace and Maddox
Sing Sam and Dave! Why not?
We hear Tony the Tiger saying "Right on
Tiger!" we heard Nixon talking about
"Power to the people"
It ain't no new thing
It ain't no new thing
It ain't no new thing
It ain't no new thing
America is always the same old shit!
The lyrics to Gil Scott-Heron's song "Ain't No New Thing" address the ongoing issue of cultural appropriation, specifically how white people have historically stolen and imitated the artistic styles and material of black artists. The song emphasizes that this is not a new phenomenon but rather one that has been happening for a long time. The lyrics highlight the example of Chuck Berry, a prominent black rock and roll artist who was overshadowed by Elvis Presley, a white artist who was deemed more acceptable to white audiences. The song condemns this cultural theft and asks why white people don't try to steal some of the poverty experienced by black communities instead.
The lyrics also touch upon the deep-seated racism and hatred that exists within society. It mentions the burning of black throats, symbolizing the attempts to silence black voices and suppress their creative expression. The song acknowledges the envy and resentment that often flash from the eyes of white individuals who view black artists as a threat.
Throughout the lyrics, there is a strong sense of resistance and pride in black heritage and achievements. The song celebrates the contributions of black artists to various musical genres, including blues, work songs, gospel songs, and freedom songs. It recognizes the power and spiritual connection in music, calling back to lost worlds and lost lifestyles.
Overall, "Ain't No New Thing" delves into the historical and ongoing struggles faced by black artists and the cultural exploitation they endure. It challenges the systemic racism present in the entertainment industry and society as a whole.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Lé Music Seducer
The rawness... it's compelling! No words can express the joy I feel at celebrating this man's life on today! RIP.
Sondra Lee
Made it my business to buy everything he ever recorded.....also....his books. Very profound poet!
Tony Tone
This is my favs of all the poems and songs he wrote .He tells the truth no matter what.
Rawverian
This man is/was recognized enough for his work. He's one of the most influential people to ever walk the Earth. He deserves more than a shot out on the B.E.T. awards. If any, his memory and work should immortalized in mind and taught for generations to come.
TheDudeMinds89
RIP Gil Scott-Heron. You were truly one of a kind,
Morris Parrish
Wherever you are Gil; I hope your restin at ease!
SirJo Cocchi
wow.what a poet and what a warrior.
Queenchill
This man is simply incredible. He never dissapoints me.
Tshepo motshepana
The godfather of rap was always ahead of his time
novembertalespinner
Consider the time when this poem was witten. Consider the cultural style in which he delivers this piece. This has a foundation in ourstory. Progessive art, politics, and a new found identity and culture. GHS music covers at least two decades of of events.