Bleep

Gil Scott-Heron’s final album, 2010’s I’m New Here, has already spawned one great offshoot LP in the form of Jamie xx’s We’re New Here. Now, to celebrate I’m New Here’s tenth birthday, fast-rising Chicago jazz troubadour Makaya McCraven has turned in his own set of reimaginings (entitled, fittingly, We’re New Again). The choice of McCraven to come in on Scott-Heron’s vaunted legacy makes sense - the soulful, stirring style that McCraven has previously displayed on records like Universal Beings is very much indebted to the work that Scott-Heron put in during his time on this planet. The result is a record of conscious vignettes that are both respectful of Scott-Heron’s originals and also advance his sound for a new era.