In Memory of Gil Scott-Heron

Friday Five

There is no Gil Scott-Heron sample in this song. I've included this track because, since the first time I heard it, I was reminded of Gil Scott. The slow, somber trumpet by Nas' father, Olu Dara, and the slow-spoken verses from Nas himself are dripping with an old-school aesthetic. Much like Gil Scott would, Nas reflects over the seemingly trivial changes in modern life as well as the deeper, more contentious realities of city life.

Sean Price is not exactly who most people would think of when they mention current artists carrying on the Gil Scott-Heron lineage. His content is uncompromising and grimy, and he seems to rap for his Brownsville neighborhood whether the rest of the world likes it or not. Still, in his rough aesthetic and course content, Sean Price deadpans about many of the things Gil Scott would analyze poetically.

On this song, sampling the Gil Scott-Heron song by the same name, Sean Price paints a pretty vivid, and not so pretty, account of PCP use before recreating a scene from drug film New Jack City and then letting the smooth, funky loop ride out for a few minutes.

Knxwledge from Philly is an Indie Shuffle favorite. The young beatmaker crafts out-of-this-world sounds, and in this instance, utilized a key snippet from Gil Scott's "Peace Go With You Brother" from the seminal Winter In America album. Knxwledge added some ethereal keys and tenacious drums -- a most fitting tribute to the source.

Gil Scott's most visible influence in hip hop was early on. Groups like the Jungle Brothers and the rest of the Native Tounge crew consciously kept the same kind of themes that Gil Scott had in his own music: a devotion to their community, self-love, and great music. This song, from the Jungle Brothers' 1988 debut album, was still from the days where a group would sample five or six records to make one track. Amid snippets and loops from The Meters and Prince, the Brothers from the Jungle included a simple but fitting vocal sample from Gil Scott-Heron's biggest commercial hit, "The Bottle."

J. Rawls from Ohio produced this classic cut from the equally classic and generation-defining Black Star album. Sampling "We Almost Lost Detroit," Rawls lays a laid-back soundscape for Talib Kweli and Mos Def to wax poetic about the beauty of everyday women of color.