There’s a very good article on Pitchfork about the late legend Gil Scott-Heron; interviewing some of his peers, friends, and contemporaries.
Leon Collins, housemate: When I look at entertainers in general, most of them are vulnerable, sensitive, compassionate. When trauma impacts them they’re emotionally damaged and a lot of them have broken hearts. They self-medicate. That’s the history of all music, black music in particular. Michael Jackson’s another sensitive soul who was traumatized. I look at Gil as a cultural activist warrior who spoke truth to power and paid a price for it. The demons that chased Gil, he earned them. They were real but I don’t think he asked for them.
