As we prepare to ring in a new year, RadarOnline.com takes a look back at the celebrities we lost in 2011 who made their memorable mark on the world.

Apple founder Steve Jobs died at 56 on October 5 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. The tech guru leaves a vast legacy in his industry over the better part of four decades, listed as the inventor of household items such as iPod, iPhone and iPad, among others. He was also the driving force behind companies like Pixar and Atari.

Legendary newsman Andy Rooney died November 4, just weeks after his 1097th and final weekly segment on the CBS stalwart 60 Minutes, capping off a 33-year run.

PHOTOS: Celebrities We Lost In 2011

Legendary musician Gil Scott-Heron -- often called the Godfather of Rap --  died Friday.

The innovative musician and poet was widely believed to have been responsible for the start of rap music due to his combining the spoken word and music along with his open criticism of racism, politics and the mass media.

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However Scott-Heron, a life-long resident of Harlem, has always claimed otherwise stating: "I don't know if I can take the blame for it," during an interview with The Daily Swarm last year.

Scott-Heron was one the first artists signed by the great Clive Davis when he launched Arista Records. He recorded an astounding 13 albums from 1970 to 1982, and his most iconic work is the still-powerful The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.

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Unfortunately in the last decade, the musician fell very publicly into a life of drug abuse.  He was arrested twice for cocaine possession, and was sent to Riker's Island Prison for a parole violation.

Scott-Heron was 62 when he died at St Luke's Hospital in New York.  The cause of death has not yet been announced.

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