Brian Jackson's gateway to the music of Gil Scott-Heron

The American soul and jazz poet Gil Scott-Heron was someone who many musicians today recognize as the "godfather of hip-hop." He often wrote about inner-city poverty, racial injustice and the Vietnam War, and his work paved the way for rappers to get political in their music. According to his longtime friend and collaborator, Brian Jackson, Scott-Heron "could get inside of a story, inside of a set of feelings." In this q gateway, Jackson presents an intimate guide to Scott-Heron's work, taking us back to the moment the two of them first met at a band practice in college. 

— Produced by Elaine Chau