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Gil Scott-Heron Is the Manifestation of the Modern Word

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Harlem By Langston Hughes What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? The “explosion” could also be one that, while violent and disruptive, produces positive changes of some kind (e.g. a revolution). Finally, though the most of the poem projects a negative tone, the shift at the end of the poem— signaled by the new stanza and the introduction of italics—might suggest a different and altogether positive change. Hughes was a major figure in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance; Harlem was the epicenter for America’s first embraced black arts movement. It was an explosion, so to speak, of dreams. http://lit.genius.com/Langston-hughes-harlem-what-happens-to-a-dream- deferred-annotated The Revolution Will Not Be Televised “a blast at consumer culture and its ability (or lack thereof) to lead social change” Awesome, annotated version of the poem http://lit.genius.c om/Gil-scott- heron-the- revolution-will- not-be-televised- annotated#note- 217382 (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken word performer in the 1970s and '80s. His own term for himself was "bluesologist", which he defined as "a scientist who is concerned with the origin of the blues." His music, most notably on Pieces of a Man and Winter in America in the early 1970s, influenced and helped engender later African-American music genres such as hip hop and neo soul. Besides influencing contemporary musicians, Scott-Heron remained active until his death, and in 2010 released his first new album in 16 years, entitled I'm New Here. A memoir he had been working on for years up to the time of his death, "The Last Holiday", was also published, posthumously in January 2012. His recording work received much critical acclaim, especially one of his best- known compositions "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". His poetic style has influenced every generation of hip hop. (Wikipedia) The song's title was originally a popular slogan among the 1960s Black Power movements in the United States. On June 16, 1966, in a speech in Greenwood, Miss. after the shooting of James Meredith during the March Against Fear, Stokely Carmichael said: “This is the twenty-seventh time I have been arrested and I ain't going to jail no more! The only way we gonna stop them white men from whuppin' us is to take over. What we gonna start sayin' now is Black Power!” (Wikipedia) Political slogan and name for various associated ideologies aimed at achieving self- determination for people of African/Black descent. Used by African Americans in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, emphasizing racial pride and the creation of black political and cultural institutions to nurture and promote black collective interests and advance black values. Known in literary circles often as the Black Arts Movement (BAM). (Wikipedia) Heron had a complicated relationship with hip- hop. Countless rappers and producers have taken pains to make their debt to him clear, and it’s something he has, unfortunately, never felt comfortable with. Last year, [in 2010] The New Yorker asked him "what he thinks when people attribute rap music to him he said, ‘I just think they made a mistake.’" Nevertheless, his influence on the genre has become a major element of his legacy. From: http://www.vulture.com/2011/05/a_brief_look_at_hip-hops_love.html Here’s Chuck D, (from Public Enemy) from The New Yorker: You can go into Ginsberg and the Beat poets and Dylan, but Gil Scott-Heron is the manifestation of the modern word. He and the Last Poets http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/353 0822107858754007/ lyrics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M5W _3T2Ye4 audio of song set the stage for everyone else. In what way necessary? Well, if you try to make pancakes, and you ain’t got the water or the milk or the eggs, you’re trying to do something you can’t. In combining music with the word, from the voice on down, you follow the template he laid out. His rapping is rhythmic, some of it’s songs, it’s punchy, and all those qualities are still used today. In spite of Heron’s resistance to accepting himself as a proto- rapper, his influence is most clearly evident on the many, many rap songs that sample his work. Common: The 6th sense https://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=KTGxPiEg7iM annotated lyrics are here: http://rap.genius.com/Common- the-6th-sense-lyrics Snoop Dogg: Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=p0OVD0_YJnU Molotov: http://vimeo.com/850288 64 In an interview Scott-Heron said of the song’s “Social Justice” definition: “That song was about your mind. You have to change your mind before you change the way you live and the way you move...The thing that's going to change people will be something that no one will ever be able to capture on film. It will just be something you see and all of a sudden you realize 'I'm on the wrong page.” Heron explains it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZvWt29OG0s Good YouTube of the pop culture references: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGaoXAwl9kw &list=RDqGaoXAwl9kw From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=kZvWt29OG0s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w- PHXPhnCc A protest song is a song which is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social movements that have an associated body of songs are the abolition movement, women's suffrage, the labor movement, the human rights movement, civil rights, the anti-war movement and 1960s counterculture, the feminist movement, the sexual revolution, the gay rights movement, animal rights movement, vegetarianism and veganism, and environmentalism. (Wikipedia) “Your Revolution” A feminist remix of “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” The Spoken word genre in African American culture today draws on and reflects a rich literary and musical heritage, and the interaction among these genres, as in the past, has produced some of America's best- known art pieces. Like Langston Hughes and writers of the Harlem Renaissance were inspired by the feelings of the blues and the African American spiritual, contemporary hip-hop and slam poetry artists were inspired by poets like Hughes in their use of word stylings. Similarly, the experimental and often radical statements of the Black Arts Movement developed a great energy with cutting-edge jazz and funk music that would expand the boundaries of African American cultural persona, and thereby provide space for increasingly alternative political ideologies to be raised, discussed, and acknowledged. Spoken word poetry came more towards the mainstream in popularity a short time later when Gil Scott Heron released his spoken word poem “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” (Wikipedia) In social philosophy, objectification means treating a person as a thing, without regard to their dignity. According to the philosopher Martha Nussbaum, a person is objectified if they are treated: as a tool for another's purposes as if lacking in agency or self-determination as if owned by another; as if interchangeable; as if permissible to damage or destroy; as if there is no need for concern for their feelings and experiences. (Wikipedia) a Tony Award winning playwright and performer. Educated at Bryn Mawr College and the United Nations International School, Sarah recently returned to her UN School roots by becoming a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, traveling as a spokesperson on violence against children, and performing for audiences from Indonesia to Ethiopia, the Middle East and Japan. Winner of the 2007 Brendan Gill Prize, Sarah has also received grants and commissions from The Ford Foundation, NYSCA, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and others, and theater honors including an Obie Award, a Helen Hayes Award, two Drama Desk nominations, and HBO’s US Comedy Arts Festival’s Best One Person Show Award, as well as an NYCLU Calloway Award in recognition of Sarah as the first artist in history to sue the Federal Communications Commission for censorship. The lawsuit resulted in reversal of the censorship ruling, which had targeted her hip-hop poem recording, “Your Revolution.” (Wikipedia) Spoken word artist Sarah Jones performs at Def Poetry Jam. Remixing Gil Scott Heron's famous piece, Jones asserts "your revolution will not happen between these thighs," drawing attention to the assertions around power and privilege that are made in hip hop lyrics at the expense of women. Jones points to what the "real" revolutionary potential of hip hop might entail. http://www.thesociologicalcinema.com/1/post/2010/07/sarah-jones-your-revolution-s01-e03.html Traditionally, a lot of rap music focused on a message promoting Black empowerment in society however in contemporary media, rap music is an ever-growing genre centered on money, cars, drink, sex and women. Gill Scott Heron’s “The revolution will not be televised” from 1972 highlights the lack of black representation in the media and fights for equal rights. Sarah Jones, “Your revolution” from 1998 fights for women’s rights and launches an attack on males and female representations as objects of the male gaze.
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