Gil Scott-Heron is one of the legends. He's not just a legend, he's one of the legends. He's the voice of a generation, of a city, of a movement. Know the phrase "The revolution will not be televised"? That was him. Ever heard a rap song? There are parts of him there, too.
Gil fell on some hard times in the 2000s, most notably getting booked for two years for coke possession and being diagnosed as HIV positive. This year, though, he made a comeback with his minimalistic album I'm New Here. It's a gritty, personal album that mixes spoken word and rap, straying closer to the poetry side of things. The opening track, "On Coming From A Broken Home (Pt. 1)," is beautiful, stark, evocative.
Perhaps the most talked about track on this unique album is "New York Is Killing Me." It's built on a foundation of hand claps and deep bass, relying almost completely on the texture of Scott-Heron's voice to infuse the song with melody through pure spoken word.
Recently, a couple of my favorite rappers have chimed in on top of the track - rappers with some New York cred under their belt. The first I heard was Mos Def's take on the track, which is a nice little tip of the cap to one of the fathers of the genre. Rather than taking over the piece, Mos just chimes in every now and then with a couple quick verses, leaving Scott-Heron as the heart of the track. It's a respectful approach that fits nicely.
The second rapper to touch up the track is Nas, of "New York State of Mind" fame. His verses are more present than Mos' - but they're also more New York-centric, which fits nicely with the thematic content of the track. I go back and forth about which remix I like better, but I think in the end I side with Nas. Neither - in my opinion - can match the emotional barrenness of the original, but they're definitely worth checking out.
Gil Scott-Heron - New York Is Killing Me (YSI) (filesavr)
Gil Scott-Heron - New York Is Killing Me (f. Mos Def Remix) (YSI) (filesavr)
