The Last Poets is a poetry collective and musical group that arose in the late 1960s as part of the

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

civil rights movement and

black nationalism Black nationalism is a nationalist movement which seeks representation for Black people as a distinct national identity, especially in racialized, colonial and postcolonial societies. Its earliest proponents saw it as a way to advocate for ...

. The name was inspired by revolutionary

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n poet Keorapetse Kgositsile who believed he was in the last era of poetry before guns took over. The group originally comprised Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin, Umar Bin Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole. Lineup changes and departures led to offshoots, including The Original Last Poets composed of Oyewole, Gylan Kain and David Nelson. The versions of the group led by Nuriddin and Hassan had the largest impact on popular culture. The Last Poets were one of the earliest influences on

hip-hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

. Critic Jason Ankeny wrote: "With their politically charged raps, taut rhythms, and dedication to raising African-American consciousness, the Last Poets almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for the emergence of hip-hop." The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

music magazine ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' stated, "Serious spokesmen like

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author known for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jackso ...

, The Last Poets, and later Gary Byrd, paved the way for the many socially committed Black mceesa decade later."

History

Origins and 1970s

Jalal Mansur Nuriddin a.k.a. Alafia Pudim, Umar Bin Hassan, and Abiodun Oyewole, along with poet Sulaiman El-Hadi and percussionist Nilaja Obabi (Raymond "Mac" Hurrey), are generally considered the best-known members of the various lineups. Jalal, Abiodun, Umar, and Nilaja appeared on the group's 1970 self-titled debut LP and follow-up ''This Is Madness'' featured all but Abiodun, due to his incarceration for political activism. On the third album ''Chastisement'' a third poet, Sulaiman El-Hadi, was added, then Nilija left and the African rhythms began to be replaced by jazzier backgrounds. The Jalal-Sulaiman version of the group made six albums together but recorded only sporadically without much promotion after 1977. The Original Last Poets were formed on May 19, 1968, the birthday of

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

, at Mount Morris Park (now known as Marcus Garvey Park) in

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the eas ...

, New York City. The original group consisted of Gylan Kain, David Nelson and Abiodun Oyewole. The group coalesced via a 1969

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

writers' workshop known as East Wind. On October 24 that year, the group performed on pioneering New York television program ''

Soul! ''Soul!'' (also stylized in uppercaseC. Gerald Fraser January 30, 1991, ''New York Times''. Accessed online 21 April 2008.) is a performance/ variety television program that showcased African American music, dance and literature in the late 1960 ...

''. The Last Poets contributed "Wake Up, Niggers" to the soundtrack of ''

Performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

'', a 1970 film featuring

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

. When Nelson left, he was replaced by Felipe Luciano, who would later leave to establish the Young Lords. When Kain and Nelson began to pursue other interests (theater and ministry respectively), Abiodun Oyewole "recruited" Alafia Pudim (later known as Jalaluddin Mansur) and Umar bin Hassan. Following the success of the newly refigured Last Poets first album, founding members Kain and Nelson got together with Luciano and recorded their only album ''Right On'' in 1970, the soundtrack to a documentary movie of the same name that finally saw release in 1971. Luciano, Kain, Abiodune Oyewole and Nelson recorded separately as The Original Last Poets, gaining some renown as the soundtrack artists (without Oyewole) of the 1971 film ''Right On!'' Following a legal battle between the two groups concerning ownership of the band's name, The ''Right On'' album was released under the group name The Original Last Poets to simultaneously establish the founding members' primacy and distance themselves from the other group of the same name.Article in ''Blues and Soul'' (April 1981) In 1972, they appeared on Black Forum Records album ''Black Spirits - Festival Of New Black Poets In America'' with "And See Her Image In The River" and "Song of Ditla, part II", recorded live at the Apollo Theatre, Harlem, New York. A book of the same name was published by

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

(1972 - ). Having reached US Top 10

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

success with its debut album, the Last Poets went on to release the follow-up, '' This Is Madness'', without then-incarcerated Abiodun Oyewole. The album featured more politically charged poetry that resulted in the group being listed under the

counter-intelligence Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting ac ...

program

COINTELPRO COINTELPRO (a syllabic abbreviation derived from Counter Intelligence Program) was a series of covert and illegal projects conducted between 1956 and 1971 by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltr ...

during the

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

administration. Hassan left the group following ''This Is Madness'' to be replaced by Sulaiman El-Hadi in time for ''Chastisment'' (1972). The album introduced a sound the group called "jazzoetry", leaving behind the spare percussion of the previous albums in favor of a blending of jazz and funk instrumentation with poetry. The music further developed into free-jazz–poetry with Hassan's brief return on Blue Thumb album ''At Last'' (1973), as yet the only Last Poets release still unavailable on CD. The remainder of the 1970s saw a decline in the group's popularity in America, although they became quite popular in Europe.

1980s and 1990s

In the 1980s and beyond, however, the group gained renown with the rise of

, often being name-checked as grandfathers and founders of the new movement, often citing the Jalaluddin solo project ''Hustler's Convention'' (1973) as their inspiration. Because of this the band was interviewed in the 1986 cult documentary '' Big Fun In The Big Town''. Nuriddin and El-Hadi worked on several projects under the Last Poets name, working with bassist and producer

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, wo ...

, including 1984's ''Oh My People'' and 1988's '' Freedom Express'', and recording the final El Hadi–Nuriddin collaboration, ''Scatterrap/Home'', in 1994. The group, El Hadi, Nuriddin and Hassan, also made a guest appearance in

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for ...

's 1993 film ''

Poetic Justice Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, h ...

''. Prominent Attorney Gregory J Reed reunited Original Poets in NY the same day of Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years and recorded "Poets Live" in Detroit's Orchestra Hall, and produced "The Return of the Original Last Poets Docudrama" Kain, Luciano, Oyewole and Nelson after 20 years in 1990. Sulaiman El-Hadi died in October 1995. Oyewole and Hassan began recording separately under the same name, releasing ''Holy Terror'' in 1995 (re-released on Innerhythmic in 2004) and ''Time Has Come'' in 1997. Meanwhile, Nuriddin released the solo CD's ''On The One'' (1996), ''The Fruits of Rap'' (1997) and ''Science Friction'' (2004) under the abbreviated name "Jalal."

21st century

In 2004, Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, a.k.a. Alafia Pudim, a.k.a. Lightning Rod (The Hustlers Convention 1973), collaborated with the UK-based poet Mark T. Watson (a.k.a. Malik Al Nasir) writing the foreword to Watson's debut poetry collection, ''Ordinary Guy'', published in December 2004 by the

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

-based publisher Fore-Word Press. Jalal's foreword was written in rhyme, and was recorded for a collaborative album "Rhythms of the Diaspora (Vol. 1 & 2 - Unreleased) by Malik Al Nasir's band, Malik & the O.G's featuring

, percussionist Larry McDonald, drummers Rod Youngs and Swiss Chris, New York dub poet Ras Tesfa, and a host of young rappers from New York and Washington, D.C. Produced by Malik Al Nasir, and Swiss Chris, the albums ''Rhythms of the Diaspora; Vol. 1 & 2'' are the first of their kind to unite these pioneers of poetry and hip hop with each other. In 2005, the Last Poets found fame again refreshed through a collaboration where the trio (Umar Bin Hassan) was featured with hip-hop artist

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

on the

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

-produced song "

The Corner ''The Corner'' is a 2000 HBO drama television miniseries based on the nonfiction book '' The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood'' (1997) by David Simon and Ed Burns, and adapted for television by David Simon and David M ...

," as well as (Abiodun Oyewole) with the

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

-affiliated political hip-hop group Black Market Militia on the song "The Final Call," stretching overseas to the UK on songs "Organic Liquorice (Natural Woman)", "Voodoocore", and "A Name" with Shaka Amazulu the 7th. The group is also featured on the

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

album '' Untitled'', on the songs "You Can't Stop Us Now" and "Project Roach." Individual members of the group also collaborated with DST on a remake of "Mean Machine",

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

on a remake of "White Man's Got A God Complex" and with

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

-based

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band the Pop Group. In 2010, Abiodun Oyowele was among the artists featured on the Welfare Poets' produced ''Cruel And Unusual Punishment'', a CD compilation that was made in protest of the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

, which also featured some several current positive hip hop artists. In 2011, Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan performed at The Jazz Cafe in London, in a tribute concert to the late Scott-Heron and all the former Last Poets. In 2014, Nuriddin performed at the same venue with Jazz Warriors, the first live performance in 40 years of the "Hustlers Convention". The event was produced by Fore-Word Press and featured Liverpool poet Malik Al Nasir with his band Malik & the O.G's featuring Cleveland Watkiss, Orphy Robinson and Tony Remy. The event was filmed as part of a documentary on the "Hustlers Convention" by Manchester film maker Mike Todd and Riverhorse Communications. The executive producer was

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D is also a me ...

. As part of the event

Charly Records Charly Records is a British record label that specialises in reissued material. Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, and Fania. History Charly Records was founded in Fran ...

re-issued a special limited edition of the vinyl version of Hustlers Convention to celebrate their 40th anniversary. The event was MC'd by poet Lemn Sissay and the DJ was Shiftless Shuffle's Perry Louis. In 2016,
The Last Poets
' (World Editions, UK), was published. The novel, written by Christine Otte

was originally published in Dutch in 2011, and has now been translated by Jonathan Reeder for English readers. In May 2018, The Last Poets released ''Understand What Black Is'', their first album since 1997. The album featured tributes to late artists Prince (musician), Prince and Biggie Smalls. In August 2022, numerous samples from The Last Poet "Mean Machine" were used in JID's " Raydar" In reference to the poet's lines about weapons, peace, and harmony.

Discography

Albums

*'' The Last Poets'' (1970) - Re-issue Celluloid Records (1984) (Cat No: CELL-6101) :: (Poets: Abiodun Oyewole, Alafia Pudim (a.k.a. Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin), & Umar Bin Hassan/Percussionist
Raymond "Nilaja/Obabi" Hurrey
*''The Original Last Poets - Right On Original Soundtrack'' (1971) Juggernaut Records :: (Poets: Felipe Luciano, David Nelson & Gylan Kain) *'' This Is Madness'' (March 1971) Douglas Records Douglas-7 (Cat No: Z-30583) :: (Poets: Alafia Pudim (a.k.a. Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin) & Umar Bin Hassan/Percussionist: Raymond "Nilaja/Obabi" Hurrey) *''Black Spirits - Festival Of New Black Poets In America'' (1972) Black Forum Records B-456-L :: (Poets: Felipe Luciano, David Nelson & Gylan Kain pelt Cain *''Chastisement'' (July 1972) :: (Poets: Alafia Pudim (a.k.a. Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin) & Sulaiman El-Hadi/Percussionist: Raymond "Nilaja/Obabi" Hurrey) *'' Hustlers Convention'' (1973) :: (Poet: Lightnin' Rod (a.k.a. Alafia Pudim & Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin) *''At Last'' (1973) :: (Poets: Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin, Sulaiman El-Hadi, & Umar Bin Hassan) *''Jazzoetry'' (Compilation) album (1976) Douglas Records

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label focuses ...

(Cat No: ADLP 6001. - Spoet Publishing - BMI) :: (Poets: Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin, Abiodun Oyewole & Umar Bin Hassan) *''Delights of the Garden'' (1977) :: (Poets: Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin & Sulaiman El-Hadi) *''Oh My People'' (1984) :: (Poets: Sulaiman El-Hadi & Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin) *''This Is Madness (Re-issue)'' (1984) ( Celluloid Records) :: (Poets: Alafia Pudim, Umar Bin Hassen; Percussion: Raymond "Nilija/Obabi" Hurrey) *''Freedom Express'' (1988) :: (Poets: Sulaiman El-Hadi & Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin) *''Retro Fit'' (Compilation) (1992) :: (Poets: Sulaiman & Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin) *'' Holy Terror'' (1993) :: (Poets: Abiodun Oyewole & Umar Bin Hassan) *''Scatterap / Home'' (1994) :: (Poets: Sulaiman El-Hadi & Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin) *''Time Has Come'' (Mouth Almighty Records 1997) :: (Poets: Abiodun Oyewole & Umar Bin Hassan) *''The Prime Time Rhyme of The Last Poets - Best Of Vol. 1'' (1999) On The One Records (Cat No: SPOA-21LP) :: (Poets: Sulaiman El-Hadi & Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin) *''The Prime Time Rhyme of The Last Poets - Best Of Vol. 2'' (1999) On The One Records :: (Poets: Sulaiman El-Hadi & Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin) *''Understand What Black Is'' (2018) :: (Poets: Abiodun Oyewole & Umar Bin Hassan) *''Transcending Toxic Times'' (2019) :: (Poets: Abiodun Oyewole & Umar Bin Hassan & Baba Donn Babatunde)

Appearances

*''American Sahara'' - SmCity, "Dream Cemetery" (2013) *''Hip-Hop samit sharma Docktrine - The Official

Boondocks The boondocks is an American expression from the Tagalog (Filipino) word ''bundók'' ("mountain"). It originally referred to a remote rural area, but now, is often applied to an out-of-the-way area considered backward and unsophisticated by c ...

Mixtape'' (2006) *''Rhythms of the Diaspora Vol. 1 & 2 Featuring

& The Last Poets (album), Rhythms of the Diaspora Vol. 1 & 2'' (2015) Mentis Records. ::(Poets: Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin, Malik Al Nasir, Ras Tesfa,

) *''The Corner'' - Common, "Be" (2005) *''Project Roach'' & ''You Can't Stop Us Now'' - Nas, "Untitled" (2008) *''Made in Amerikkka'' - Reuniting The Last Poets (2008) *''Poetic Justice'' (1993) *''Excursions'' -

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip< ...

, " The Low End Theory" (1991) *''Discipline 99 Pt. 0'' - Quasimoto, " The Unseen" (2000) *''Return of The Last Poets'' 1990 riginal Founding members, Kain, Lupe, Abiodune and Nelson

Bibliography

*''Vibes from the Scribes'' - Pluto Press, 1985 *''On a Mission'' - Henry Holt Pub., 1996

Filmography

*1970 - "Tamu". Directed by

Larry Clark Lawrence Donald Clark (born January 19, 1943) is an American film director, photographer, writer and film producer who is best known for his controversial teen film '' Kids'' (1995) and his photography book ''Tulsa'' (1971). His work focuses pri ...

. - "Two Little Boys" included in soundtrack. Los Angeles, California, 1970 *1971
Right On!
': Poetry on Film'' (Original Last Poets). Directed by Herbert Danska. *1990 - The Return of Original members of Last Poets Docudrama after 20 years of separation producer atty Gregory J Reed *2008 - ''The Last Poets, made in Amerikkka'' (réalisation: Claude Santiago. France, 2008. www.lahuit.com). *2004 - ''Word-Up!: From Ghetto to Mecca'' Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, Gil Scott-Heron, Malik Al Nasir, Benjamin Zephaniah. Directed by Shirani Sabaratnam. Liverpool, UK *2014 - ''Hustlers Convention'' (Feature Documentary Film) Jalal Mansur Nuriddin,

, Malik Al Nasir,

Ice-T Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958), known professionally as Ice-T (or Ice T), is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop music, hip hop and heavy metal music, heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground r ...

Immortal Technique Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), known artistically as Immortal Technique, is an American rapper, activist and songwriter. His lyrics are largely commentary on issues such as politics, religion, institutional racism, and govern ...

, Alan Douglas, Sonia Sanchez,

Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel or simply Melle Mel (), is an American rapper who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Career Glover began per ...

Fab Five Freddy Fred Brathwaite (born August 31, 1959), more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer. He is considered one of the architects of the street art movement. Freddy emerged in New York's downtown ...

. Directed by Mike Todd. Manchester, UK

References

External links

Interview with The Last Poets in November 2008, World Tracks, Radio France International

Jalal Mansur Nuriddin's website

Umar Bin Hassan's website

Last Poets Tribute album at Jambetta Music
*
The Last Poets' page at Celluloid Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Poets, The American spoken word poets African-American poets American poets American political music groups Musical groups established in 1968 Mercury Records artists Blue Thumb Records artists Poets from New York (state) 1968 establishments in New York City