Letters to Gil

By: Malik Al Nasir, Benjamin Zephania

Narrated by: Malik Al Nasir, Gil Scott-Heron

Exclusive content in this audio edition includes interviews between Malik and Benjamin Zephaniah, Jalal Munsur Nuriddin, and Rod Youngs as well as musical and lyrical performances from Gil and Malik.

Letters to Gil is Malik Al Nasir’s profound coming of age memoir – the story of surviving physical and racial abuse and discovering a new sense of self-worth under the wing of the great artist, poet and civil rights activist Gil Scott-Heron.

Born in Liverpool, Malik was taken into care at the age of nine after his seafaring father became paralysed. He would spend his adolescence in a system that proved violent, neglectful, exploitative, traumatising and mired in abuse. Aged eighteen, he emerged semi-literate, penniless with no connections or sense of where he was going – until a chance meeting with Gil Scott-Heron.

Letters to Gil will tell the story of Malik’s empowerment and awakening while mentored by Gil, from his introduction to the legacy of Black history to the development of his voice through poetry and music. Written with lyricism and power, it is a frank and moving memoir, highlighting how institutional racism can debilitate and disadvantage a child, as well as how mentoring, creativity, self-expression and solidarity helped him to uncover his potential.

©2021 Malik Al Nasir (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"A searing, triumphant story. A testament to the tenacity of the human spirit as well as a beautiful ode to an iconic figure." (Irenosen Okojie)

Tenacity , Resilience and Inspirational

I raced through this memoir. There were so many memories brought up by Malik as I spent my formative years as a student and young professional in Liverpool , in the years after the Toxteth riots, which he vividly describes .
This is a story that is the real ‘underdog did good ‘. From a childhood of torment in the care system of the northwest of England , to the self discovery and journey with his lifelong mentor Gil Scot Heron, this book is a wonderful mosaic of a black man’s journey coming to terms with his past , and forging a meaningful future . Loved the acoustic touches throughout the book.

Great Book! Must read!

I really appreciated this production! Gil Scott-Heron was a favorite "bluesician" of mine growing up, and this book provided a unique insight into Gil's personality, his humility, and his humanity. It also provided a lens into the evolution of Spoken Word and early Rap as well as illustrating the political scene surrounding the author's life coming of age. This well-balanced book is so much more than a wonderful autobiography of Malik Al Nasir's life and his close friendship with Gil. Thank you Brother!

interesting Journey

This touched on a number of topics all of which were handled well. Malik's story is one of triumph. Well done to the lad!

Audiobook review

A great deal of fries but little burger.

The byline of this book is “A Luminous Memoir of Racism, Life in the Care System and the Power of Discovering Music Under the Mentorship of Gil Scott-Heron” with a photo of the author and Gil on the cover together. Like the author, I am deeply moved by Heron’s work so an opportunity to hear more about the man is very appealing to me I also fully expected to hear some of Nasir’s story as well.

However, the amount of Gil to Nasir ratio was much smaller than I anticipated from the byline and photo. This is mostly Nasir’s story and, as an added bonus, he very competently reads the text himself and you get to hear his poetry and samples of his music. His story is interesting, BUT I expected to learn a bit more about Heron and ultimately did not and ended up feeling a bit disappointed by the end because of those expectations.