Gil Scott-Heron
Gil Scott-Heron passed away on May 27, 2011, at the age of 62 at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York after reportedly becoming ill following a trip to Europe. Although the poet had battled a cocaine addiction and was HIV positive, the cause wasn’t released. Known as the “godfather of rap,” Scott-Heron was a groundbreaking spoken word and soul artist of the ’60s and ’70s whose influence on hip-hop can be found in even today’s crop of young emcees.
