Welcome back! We’re counting down the Top Twenty creepy Halloween Tunes, and we’ve arrived at Number 2, and this one is a doozy. By an influential artist that is widely considered to be the first rapper/MC, this song is from the last album he released before his death in 2011.

Number 2 : Gil Scott-Heron – Me And The Devil

Gil Scott-Heron was a jazz and soul poet, best known as a spoken word performer in the 70s and 80s. He described himself as a “bluesologist,” and received a lot of critical acclaim for his work. His best known piece, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” was on his first album in 1970, and his influence on the African-American music scene was widespread.

But Scott-Heron struggled with addiction, and spent several years in prison on drug related charges in the early 2000s. After his release from prison, he began performing again, and after 16 years without recording, he released I’m New Here in 2010. The beat is more industrial and electronic, and was a departure from Scott-Heron’s earlier sound. “Me And The Devil” was the lead single; an adaptation of “Me And The Devil Blues” by the legendary Robert Johnson.

Rolling Stone magazine described I’m New Here as “a steely blues record at heart — the sound of a damaged man staring in the mirror without self-pity but not without hope.” I feel like that is the perfect description for this song.

The lyric, “I believe it’s time to go…” also proved a bit prescient, given that Scott-Heron died not long after the album’s release.

I’ve always been a fan of his work, but this song pulled him out of the memory bank he’d been hiding in, and reminded me of what an absolute risk-taker he’d been.

Here’s Gil Scott-Heron with “Me And The Devil.” Enjoy!

 

The Countdown