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The Conversation USA

Why Gil Scott-Heron's 'Whitey on the Moon' still feels relevant today

  • Written by A.D. Carson, Assistant Professor of Hip-Hop, University of Virginia
imageRecent space flights by multi-billionaires highlight the extreme economic inequality in America.Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Not long after the July 20, 1969, Moon landing, Gil Scott-Heron – a poet hailed as the “Godfather of Rap” – released a scathingly critical song called “Whitey on the Moon.”

While others lauded...

Read more: Why Gil Scott-Heron's 'Whitey on the Moon' still feels relevant today

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