Gil Scott-Heron live in Oslo

The great American poet, musician and author is finally back in Oslo. Wednesday the 19th of may he will grace the stage at Rockefeller Music Hall. Scott-Heron has been a great influence on the hip-hop culture, and has been dubbed “the black Bob Dylan”.

His engagement in society, politics and afro-american rights a key theme in his music. “The revolution will not be televised” is in that context  a great example, as it is an exquisite piece of soul music. A key piece of the album “Pieces of a man”, it was released on Flying Dutchman in 1971 and spans the early years of Gil’s career before he left the label for Arista. Working with Bob Thiele he got the mix of jazz, soul and poetry just right. His social awareness so apparent in his lyrics, dealing with the superficiality of television and mass consumerism, the hypocrisy of some would-be Black revolutionaries, white middle-class ignorance of the difficulties faced by inner-city residents, and homophobia.

My personal favorites from the album are “Lady Day and John Coltrane” (cheekily sampled by Kjell for the drum’n'bass heads), “Pieces of a man”, and not least the fantastic “Save the children”.

“I’m new here“, Gil’s first album in 16 years hit the shelves this february and was indeed impressive. Released on XL Recordings it has got that unmistakably soul of Scott-Heron all over it. Do not miss out on the opportunity to see a true legend live on stage in Oslo!

Tickets are still available here