In the 15 years that Gil Scott-Heron has been out of action, we've seen controversial wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an economic meltdown and the (televised) election of the first black American president. You would, then, be forgiven for assuming that I'm New Here might be stuffed full with the sharp-tongued political criticism of classic Gil Scott-Heron tracks like 'H2Ogate Blues' or 'B Movie (Intro, Poem, Song)'. Instead he throws a curve-ball and delivers an incredibly personal account of his upbringing, with all of the oratory power that earned him his title "The Godfather of Rap".

Gil Scott-Heron began his career in 1970

On I'm New Here, Gil Scott-Heron steps away from his jazz influences and embraces the production techniques of modern day hip-hop and rap. Drum samples and synthesisers now accompany his spoken word pieces where bongos and jazz flute were used in his early work, yet his soulful and introspective vocals still shine through. Nowhere is this clearer than in the first single to be released from the album, 'Me and the Devil'. The stark rhythms alongside his melancholic vocals create the kind of soundscape that truly transports you to the downtown areas that Scott-Heron is so adept in describing.

In 'New York Is Killing Me' we hear a nod to the stripped back rhythms of his first album, Small Talk at 125th and Lenox. Layered handclaps slowly build into a sinister gospel chorus singing “Lord have mercy, have mercy on me/Bury my body back home in Jackson, Tennessee”. In his songs he repeatedly evokes images of a harsh and desolate urban environment, yet in his spoken word pieces he speaks of the deep-seated morals within his family that allowed him to succeed. He plays on the political ideas of social inequality and urban living seen in his early work, yet the emphasis is always on his upbringing by his grandmother.

This isn't just a comeback album from a troubled musician, it is probably the album that defines his already iconic career. He has moved beyond the sarcastic tone of his early political records and has pushed past the soulless jazz albums he created with Brian Jackson; now he connects with his audience by looking at his own upbringing and assessing how he succeeded against the odds. In the years Gil Scott-Heron has been away from the music world, his own genre has been distorted into a commercial for drugs, gun crime and misogyny. He has returned with an album that doesn't just reinvent him, but totally reinvents what modern urban and hip-hop music should be about. It isn't just genre defining, it is genre saving and will most definitely be considered as the crowning musical achievement of the decade.

Just to whet your appetite, here is the video of the first single, 'Me and The Devil'.


Released 8th February 2010, with 'Me and the Devil' following 22nd February, on XL Recordings

Words by Jonathan Wilson