Influential musician and poet passed away on Friday (May 27)
Eminem, Radiohead, Snoop Dogg and Cee Lo Green have paid tribute to Gil Scott-Heron, who died on Friday (May 27).
The influential musician and poet, who was 62, passed away in a New York hospital after falling ill following a recent trip to Europe. The cause of his death is still unclear.
Writing on his Twitter page, Eminem said that Scott-Heron “influenced all of hip-hop”.
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke also paid his own unique tribute, posting a list of nine tracks, some of which feature Scott-Heron, on the band’s official Dead Air Space blog.
Snoop Dogg tweeted that the spoken-word legend was “1 of tha greats”, while Wu Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah wrote on his Twitter page: “Salute Mr. Gil Scott-Heron for his wisdom and poetry! May he Rest in Paradise.”
Cee Lo Green described Scott-Heron as a “God”, while rapper Michael Franti told BBC News that his talent was his ability to “make us think about the world in a different way.”
Shortly after news of the death broke yesterday (28), XL Recordings boss Richard Russell – who produced Scott-Heron‘s final studio album ‘I’m New Here’ – revealed his thoughts and memories on his blog. He said that the musician had “immense” talent and spirit.
Meanwhile, Public Enemy‘s Chuck D revealed that he had recently been working on new material with Scott-Heron, while New York rapper Talib Kweli and Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers also paid their own tributes.