Gil Scott-Heron initially recorded “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” for his 1970 live album, Small Talk at 125th and Lennox. Heron performed the poem about the realness of revolution before a studio audience with nothing but congas and bongos. The poem was a response to The Last Poet’s “When The Revolution Comes,” which talks about seeing revolution on television. Both artists wanted to convey the seriousness and collateral damage of the hardest societal shift and Heron did so with the verve of a jazzman. Heron recorded “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” again for his first proper album, Pieces of a Man, released in 1971. This version included drumming legend Bernard Purdie, Hubert Laws on flute, bass giant Ron Carter, Burt Jones on guitar and the beginning of a long collaborative relationship with Brian Jackson on piano. The album did better commercially than Small Talk but it did not start to make an impact until 1973, when it entered the Top Jazz Albums chart. Critics mostly ignored it save for Rolling Stone and Vince Aletti but the music was important because of Heron’s political observations and the soulful mixing of blues and jazz, all of which was a harbinger of rap music.

RCA reissued Pieces of a Man on compact disc in 1993. “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” has been sampled by Common, N.E.R.D., Black Star, Queen Latifah, Travis Scott, and Big K.R.I.T. Kendrick Lamar referenced the song during his 2025 Super Bowl LIX Halftime show. Awake NY has collaborated with the Gil Scott-Heron estate for a second time to create a capsule inspired by his image and music. The 10th anniversary edition of Heron’s last album, I’m New Here, was released in February 2025. 

Dub poet Mutabaraka’s Black Attack has just been released on vinyl. The artist revived the genre last year when he reemerged after a 14-year hiatus. In the ’70s, Mutabaraka had company from Linton Kwesi Johnson, Mikey Smith, Lillian Allen, Oku Onura, and Sister Breeze. They all used poetry and reggae music as a cultural weapon against racism. He is the only dub poet from that era who has released new work. Mutabaraka has kept political dialogue going with his radio show The Cutting Edge on Irie-FM in Jamaica and YouTube commentary videos. The Mad Professor produced Black Attack which he started working on 10 years ago when he sent Mutabaraka some music. The poet explained the process in a statement: 

 “I had connected with Mad Professor over ten years ago and he actually sent some riddims, but we didn’t connect again until last year when I was in England; we decided to take advantage of me being in England plus he had a studio. I selected poems from my poetry book that was never recorded plus new ones I had lately written.” Mad Professor adds, “It was a great pleasure recording and working with Mutabaruka. In 45 years of recording many artists from all over the world, this has been the smoothest project ever! He has a transparent approach to both the business and the technical/musical techniques. It’s a real pleasure and really enjoyable!! Truly a real legend!!”

Black Attack stays true to Mutabaraka’s mission to examine colonialism, Rastafarianism, and the problems of Babylon. Vinyl versions of Black Attack are available via Bandcamp. 

Dub poet Mutabaraka ceases a 14-year break with the release of “Black Attack” produced by Mad Professor. The dub prophets reconnect to make a perky song about everything in the way of progress for Black people. Mutabaraka’s list of problems is serious but Mad Professor’s rhythms sound festive despite the gloomy poetic assessment. He explained how the song happened in a statement, “’Black Attack’ is attacking all the things that are keeping black people from progressing after 500 years of slavery and now colonialism, I had connected with Mad Professor over ten years ago and he actually sent some riddims but we didn’t connect again until last year when I was in England.”

The single is the first from Mutabaraka’s upcoming album also titled Black Attack. He is just as concerned with Black life and freedom as he was when he started publishing his poems in the ’70s. His Cutting Edge and Steppin’ Razor radio shows were another place where he shared his strong opinions and they were two of the most popular shows in Jamaica. Mutabaraka and Mad Professor performed together at Rototom Sunsplash in Europe earlier this month. Black Attack comes out on October 6th via Shanachie Records. 

[youtube id=”GpQ6fho3rqo”]Watch Saul Williams deliver the words to “Dare” against a backdrop of startling colors with a serious stare. Encrypted & Vulnerable came out two months ago and it is the next part in the MartyrLoserKing sci-fi trilogy project. The first album explored the story of African computer hackers and the ramifications of their existence on American digital culture. Williams looked at race and technology and even created a love story between an inter-sex runaway and an escaped coltan miner. Encrypted & Vulnerable has appearances from Christian Scott, Gonjasufi and CX KIDTRONIK and their energy contributes to the sequel’s texture and form.