The Last Poets
The Last Poets are an African-American group of musicians and poets who came together in the late 1960s as a result of the civil rights movement and black nationalism . The name of the group is derived from a poem by the South African poet Keorapetse Kgositsile .
The Last Poets are considered to be the pioneers of hip-hop . The music critic Jason Ankeny wrote of them: "With their political raps, strict rhythms and their commitment to African-American values, the Last Poets laid the basis for the development of hip-hop almost on their own."
history
In their original line-up, the Last Poets were founded on May 19, 1968 in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem . Founding members were Felipe Luciano, Gylan Kain and David Nelson.
Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, Umar Bin Hassan, Abiodun Oyewole and percussionist Nilaja joined the Last Poets in 1969 through a workshop for writers, the Harlem Writers' Workshop East Wind . They all played a key role in the group's first album, Last Poets, which was released in 1970 . The LP was created with the help of Jimi Hendrix producer Alan Douglas .
In 1971 the second album This Is Madness was released , but without Abiodun Oyewole, who had to serve a prison sentence at the time. This Is Madness is characterized by more political texts, which led to the fact that the group was subsequently monitored by intelligence agencies . After the second album, Umar Bin Hassan left the group and was replaced by Sulaiman El-Hadi. On their third album, Chastisement , released in 1972, the Last Poets experimented with a new sound they called jazzoetry ; Instead of the minimalist accompaniment by percussion instruments, this was a full sound in which elements of jazz and funk were combined with the still poetic-political texts.
During the 1970s, the group had increasingly less success. This only changed in the 1980s when, with the rise of hip-hop, many rap musicians sampled the Last Poets and named them as role models. Jalal Mansur Nuriddin and Sulaiman El-Hadi worked together as Last Poets on several albums in the following years, including Oh My People (1984) and Freedom Express (1988). Since then, other recordings have followed, with different cast.
In the past few years, Last Poets members have worked with rappers like Common , Kanye West and Nas , among others . 1970's "S / T" was included in The Wire's legendary wirelist "100 Records That Set The World On Fire (While No One Was Listening)" .
Discography (selection)
- 1970: The Last Poets (Abiodun Oyewole, Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, & Umar Bin Hassan)
- 1971: This Is Madness (Jalal Mansur Nuriddin & Umar Bin Hassan)
- 1973: Chastisement (Jalal Mansur Nuriddin & Sulaiman El-Hadi)
- 1973: The Hustlers Convention (Jalal Mansur Nuriddin)
- 1974: At Last (Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, Sulaiman El-Hadi, & Umar Bin Hassan)
- 1976: Delights of the Garden (Jalal Mansur Nuriddin & Sulaiman El-Hadi)
- 1984: Oh, My People (Sulaiman El-Hadi & Jalal Mansur Nuriddin)
- 1988: Freedom Express (Sulaiman El-Hadi & Jalal Mansur Nuriddin)
- 1994: Scatterap / Home (Sulaiman El-Hadi & Jalal Mansur Nuriddin)
- 1995: Holy Terror (Abiodun Oyewole & Umar Bin Hassan)
- 2004: Science Friction (Jalal Mansur Nuriddin)
- 2018: Understand What Black Is (Baba Donn Babatunde, Abiodun Oyewole & Umar Bin Hassan)
Books
- Vibes From the Scribes , Pluto Press, 1985
Movies
- Right On !: Poetry on Film (1971), directed by Herbert Danska
- The Last Poets - Made in Amerikkka (2009), directed by Claude Santiago