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.
Brother
Gil Scott-Heron Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Always afro's, handshakes and dashikis
Never can a man build a working structure for black capitalism
Always does the man read Mao or Fanon
I think I know you would-be black revolutionaries too well
Standing on a box on the corner, talking about blowing the white man away
That's now where it's at yet, brother
Calling this man an Uncle Tom and telling this woman to get an afro
But you won't speak to her if she looks like hell, now will you brother
Some of us been checking your act out kinda close
And by now its looking kinda shaky
The way you been rushin' people with your super black bag
Jumping down on some black men with both feet cause they're after their B-A
But you're never around when your BA is in danger, I mean your black ass
I think it was a little too easy for you to forget that you were a negro before Malcolm
You drove your white girl through the village every Friday night
While the grassroots stared in envy and drank wine, do you remember?
You need to get your memory banks organized brother.
Show that man you call an Uncle Tom just where he's wrong
Show that woman that you're a sincere black man
All we need to do is see you shut up and be black
Help that woman
Help that man
That's what brothers are for brother.
In Gil Scott-Heron's song "Brother", the lyrics are an indictment of the superficiality and lack of action in the black revolutionary movement. He critiques the external focus of the movement, with people wearing afros and dashikis without building a working structure for black capitalism. Scott-Heron expresses his disappointment in the failure of many black revolutionaries to move beyond rhetoric and take real action to build social and economic structures within their communities.
Scott-Heron also criticizes the tendency to idolize revolutionary leaders like Mao or Fanon, without critically analyzing their ideas. He highlights the hypocrisy of some revolutionaries who claim to fight for black liberation but still judge black women by their appearance and refuse to speak to them if they don't look a certain way.
The song is a call to action for black revolutionaries to get past their superficial preoccupations and focus on what really matters: helping each other. Scott-Heron urges black men to help their fellow men and women to build a better future, to show those they criticize that they are wrong by their actions, and to be sincere in their efforts to create change.
Line by Line Meaning
We deal in too many externals, brother
We focus too much on superficial things, brother
Always afro's, handshakes and dashikis
We are always wearing afros, giving black power handshakes, and wearing dashikis
Never can a man build a working structure for black capitalism
No one has successfully built an economic structure that benefits black people
Always does the man read Mao or Fanon
Men are always reading Mao or Fanon
I think I know you would-be black revolutionaries too well
I believe I understand you, the black revolutionaries, quite deeply
Standing on a box on the corner, talking about blowing the white man away
You are standing on a street corner, talking about killing white people
That's now where it's at yet, brother
That's not where we are yet, brother
Calling this man an Uncle Tom and telling this woman to get an afro
You call a man an Uncle Tom and tell a woman to wear an afro
But you won't speak to her if she looks like hell, now will you brother
But you won't talk to her if she doesn't look good, will you brother?
Some of us been checking your act out kinda close
Some of us have been paying close attention to your behavior
And by now its looking kinda shaky
And now it seems uncertain
The way you been rushin' people with your super black bag
The way you have been pressuring people with your extreme blackness
Jumping down on some black men with both feet cause they're after their B-A
Attacking some black men because they are pursuing their education
But you're never around when your BA is in danger, I mean your black ass
But you're never around when your degree is in trouble, I mean your black self
I think it was a little too easy for you to forget that you were a negro before Malcolm
I believe it was too easy for you to forget that you were black before Malcolm X
You drove your white girl through the village every Friday night
You used to take your white girlfriend through the black neighborhood every Friday night
While the grassroots stared in envy and drank wine, do you remember?
While the common people looked on with envy and drank wine, do you remember?
You need to get your memory banks organized brother.
You need to sort out your thoughts and remember where you came from, brother
Show that man you call an Uncle Tom just where he's wrong
Show that man you call an Uncle Tom where he is mistaken
Show that woman that you're a sincere black man
Show that woman that you are a genuine black man
All we need to do is see you shut up and be black
All we need is for you to stop talking and simply be black
Help that woman
Help that woman
Help that man
Help that man
That's what brothers are for brother.
That's what brothers are for, brother.
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: GIL SCOTT-HERON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind