Johannesburg (song)

"Johannesburg"
Song by Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson
from the album From South Africa to South Carolina
ReleasedNovember 1975
RecordedSummer 1975
StudioD&B Sound (Silver Spring, Maryland)
Genre
Length4:52
LabelArista
LyricistGil Scott-Heron
ProducerThe Midnight Band
Official audio
"Johannesburg" (live) on YouTube

"Johannesburg" is a song by Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson, with music provided by the Midnight Band. It is the first track on Scott-Heron and Jackson's collaborative album From South Africa to South Carolina, released in November 1975 through Arista Records. The lyrics to "Johannesburg" discussed opposition to apartheid in South Africa, and likened apartheid to the disenfranchisement of African Americans in the United States. The song became a popular hit, reaching No. 29 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1975. According to Nelson George, "Johannesburg" played a role in spreading the cultural awareness of apartheid.