Me and The Devil – Gil Scott-Heron

Gil Scott-Heron, the legendary poet and singer who first proclaimed that “The revolution will not be televised” and whose influence on rap music and the culture of today cannot be understated. After a 16-year hiatus, he returned with his album I’m New Here, featuring one of the most badass reworks of a Robert Johnson song I’ve ever heard, and that’s really saying something. I think it would be fair to compare GSH’s influence on rap to that of Robert Johnson’s on rock.

“Me and The Devil” is essentially a reworking, or perhaps a better way to describe it is a modern reimagining of Robert Johnson’s “Me and the Devil Blues“. A lot of the dramatics of this song center around the production, which was done by XL Records owner Richard Russell. GSH’s almost withered vocals add a lot to the power of the song as well.

Audio – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMJIHCn6h9E

Robert Johnson – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYsnRc09csQ