Letters to Gil

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 and racism. 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. 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 and nurturing through creativity and self-expression, can help undo the damage and turn the detriment into a driving force.