No. 330: Gil Scott-Heron - "I'm New Here" (2010)

This is the first album in 16 years from Gil Scott-Heron: the American musician / poet / author who broke through in the 70's and whose work had a big impact on the early formative years of rap & hip-hop. He is best known for his track "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", which became an anthem for black militant activists in the 1970's, and the album Winter In America - a commentary on the political, economic and social state of affairs in the USA during the Watergate / Vietnam era.
Fast forward 35 years and Scott-Heron's life has been marred by drug abuse and convictions for possession, and he brings some life experience, recollections and wisdom to the table with this bluesy/spoken work album, nicely presented with a dubstep/electro-ambient backing.
It only clocks in at just over 28 minutes, but you get a feel for where this guy's coming from as he croaks out some musings on life, love, death and the afterlife. Some pieces are half-sung, some are just brief audio snippets used as interludes between tracks, but as a whole this confessional offering is heartfelt and real, and at the end of the day that's all you can really ask for from a musician.
Check out "New York Is Killing Me" with its sampled hand-clap backing and mean acoustic guitar riff. A fine piece of work.