I'm New Here.

What a beautiful song.
R.I.P Gil Scott-Heron.

I was just reflecting on Gil Scott-Heron's album 'I'm New Here' and how it reminds me of Johnny Cash making his last recorded albums 'American Recordings'. I love it that these great artists gave their best even when they could have easily retired. These records are something the industry can never categorize, it's art in relation to life, the words shaped can never be mimicked. Art needs to come out from life, you have to have gone through what Gil Scott-Heron went through to make his art, and he went through a lot, having lived through the Jim Crow laws, laws that segregated black people from white people in America, as well as an ongoing struggle with drug addiction. I love that he was always frank and honest about the way he felt about his country and himself, he made it a point to bother about the bigger picture, that what happens in another country, happens to his country, that the world's problems were his problems. That what the future generations of rappers have to fear are making songs that aren't based on authentic experiences. His last album is something like vintage wine for me, ripe with all the flavors of a beautiful life. It's sad that he couldn't have made more music. All this makes me realize that old age is something to actually look forward too, unless you go senile, Gil Scott-Heron is evidence that great things can be done even then.