Don Cornelius, an icon of Black America, passed away recently. This came as a shock to me as I have fond memories of watching Soul Train as a kid in the seventies. Back then, it was the only way to see black artists perform their music on television. One artist that stood apart from all the happy dancing and fashionable clothing of the time was Gil Scott-Heron. His music was less about forgetting your troubles and more about reminding the rest of the United States that life as a person of color was still very difficult despite the passage of the Civil Rights Act. The Austin Public Library has a number of works by this musician and jazz poet who has been credited as the creative influence behind hip-hop and rap music. I've listed a few titles below for the curious.
Writings:
Music:
