preview

Gil Scott Heron's The Godfather Of Rap

Decent Essays
Open Document

In a time of both social and political tension in the United States, Gil Scott Heron left a massive impression as a musician and poet. Later earning the nickname, “The Godfather of Rap,” Heron played a major role in producing soul, jazz, and blues music that was associated with social and political issues in the United States during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Heron studied at Lincoln University, following in the footsteps of other prominent African American individuals such as Langston Hughes and Melvin Tolson. Hughes, along with fellow poet, LeRoi Jones, were two African American academics whose overwhelming influence on Heron would resonate in all of his albums. Following his graduation, Heron teamed up with fellow Lincoln University classmate, Brian Jackson, to produce numerous albums. Mainly concerning racial and social injustice, these notable works of …show more content…

Heron believed that it was corrupt how a country can put people on the moon, but not support its struggling inner-city citizens. In the poem, Heron tells a story of a narrator who has, “No hot water, no toilets, no lights,” meanwhile the narrator still has to pay doctor bills for his sister, pay the rising rent, pay taxes, and pay rising food prices just to get by (“AfroPoets Famous Writers”). “Whitey on the Moon” discusses how a nation should be more concerned with feeding and looking out for the wellbeing of its citizens before going ahead with not only space exploration, but what many poor citizens would call an unnecessary use of resources. More than anything, “Whitey on the Moon” encourages not just poor, inner-city people, but the entire population to stand up and see the injustices that rest in the United States. As decades passed, Heron’s work only seemed to grow more focused on American civil

Get Access