I was lucky enough to interview the late Gil Scott-Heron in October 1984 just before he and his six-piece band played two shows, Thursday November 8 at the dearly missed Bamboo Club on Queen West.
Scott-Heron spoke with me on the phone from New York City though he was living in Washington DC – “15th street,” he said proudly – at the time.
He was a decidedly upbeat and his rich, clear voice was strong and sure. It was just days after Ronald Reagan had been re-elected in a massive landslide and Scott-Heron was actually buoyant about the battle ahead, bristling at this latest stage in the struggle he had been waging as an artist much of his life.
Not surprisingly, we talked a lot of politics as well the nature of media and why the Right was so effective in manipulating it. He likened party records to Chinese food “a little while later you’re hungry again ” and said America was growing complacent.
On reflection, it seems amazing that we were still discussing the battle against apartheid and the ethics of performing in South Africa.
I saw Scott-Heron perform at the Bamboo the night the cover came out and it was a superb show with a great band. Scott-Heron was at the top of his rap-pioneering game. The Toronto anti-apartheid organization, the Biko-Rodney Malcolm Coalition, presented Scott-Heron with an award at the Bamboo show for his efforts to fight apartheid.
It was easy to believe speaking with Scott-Heron that day that he was on a powerful trajectory with the best yet to come, rather than the one that saw him die much too young at 62 last week in a Harlem basement apartment with a crack pipe at his side.
Listen to audio from my interview here.
Scott-Heron talks about what makes an enduring song.
The nature of the music industry.
Political music comes from experiences. And Scott-Heron reflects on the politics of the day, including then-president Ronald Reagan.
Scott-Heron gets into South African apartheid.
Read my original story here.
