As most of the nation still tries to stay warm, If you’re casting about for something to watch or even just something to fill the room, you could do a lot worse than this.

Black Wax, Robert Mugge’s 1982 documentary about Gil Scott-Heron is positively overflowing with the legendary talker and musician—“talker” seeming a far apter description of what GSH did than “street poet.” The man was born to talk, and everything he says in this movie has a wonderful, cockeyed, sad beauty to it. The music, supplied by the Midnight Band, has the same marvelous flow.
 

 
This photo is from the start of Scott-Heron’s tour of Washington, D.C., somewhere around the middle of part 1. His angry poem “Whitey on the Moon,” which kicks off part 2, is a particular highlight. Enjoy.
 
Gil Scott-Heron, Black Wax, part 1:

 
Gil Scott-Heron, Black Wax, part 2:

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’: Gil Scott-Heron documentary
Gil Scott-Heron: I’m New Here