The Last Poets first got together in Harlem in 1969 -- as legend has it, at a celebration of Malcolm X's birthday in Mt. Morris park, creating what Ty Williams calls "a workshop of the mind." This original get-together let to further sessions at "East Wind," a loft located on 125th St. between Madison and Fifth Avenues, and a record contract with Alan Douglas (known as the producer of Hendrix's Electric Ladyland LP). It was a time of potent Black nationalism, and the Black Arts were a major part of that scene; the Poets took their inspiration from poets like Imamu Amiri Baraka, musicians like'Trane and Sun Ra, and political organizations like the Panthers and the NOI.They chose African-flavored jazz rhythms as their backup, rather than R&B, consciously rejecting (at least at first) mass-media "Black" culture. Theirs was a performance art, done on the spot at late-night sessions, improvising individually and collectively, trading words just as jazz musicians traded melodic ideas, repeating them with variations, coming together with multiple voices for the climax.
Two different groups, in fact, emerged from this scene, both calling themselves the Last Poets. The first, and by far most short-lived, the "Original" Last Poets, consisted of Felipe Luciano, David Nelson and Gylan Kain. They appeared together the film Right On!, and Kain later released a solo album, Blue Guerilla. After that they seem to have largely vanished. The second group, headed by Jalal Nuriddin, Umar Bin Hassan, and Abiodun Oyewole, joined with percussionist Nilaja Obabi and were signed to Douglas Records. The lineup changed over time; Oyewole was in prison for a period, and Nilaja died of cancer; Hassan left and was replaced for a time by Suliaman El-Hadi. Jalal eventually left for the UK, where he recorded and produced for the On-U-Sound label, while other former bandmates reunited or cut solo recordings, many of them on Bill Laswell's Axiom label.
The legendary Mr. Gil Scott-Heron arrived on the scene at nearly the same time; his debut album, Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, came out in 1970 on Bob Theiele's Flying Dutchman label. Spare, with just voice and congas, Scott-Heron added a wry sense of humor, as evidenced in "Whitey on the Moon":
A rat done bit my sister Nell(with Whitey on the moon)Her face and arms began to swell.(and Whitey's on the moon)I can't pay no doctor bills(but Whitey's on the moon)Ten years from now I'll be payin' still(while Whitey's on the moon)
The album also included the original version of his best-known track, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Scott-Heron went on to release more than two dozen albums; in the mid-1970's he became more widely known after appearances as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, and his anti-apartheid anthem "Johannesburg" became a hit. Always a bit reluctant to be seen as a progenitor of Hip-hop (asked in 1989 by Musician magazine if he had any advice for Hip-hop musicians, he replied "Yeah -- learn to play an instrument"), he relented in 1994, recording two tracks with ATCQ's Ali Shaheed Muhammed, including his "Message to the Messengers":
Hey, yeah, we the same brothas from a long time ago
We was talkin' about television and doin' it on the radio
What we did was to help our generation realize
They had to get out there and get busy cause it wasn't gonna be televised
We got respect for you rappers and the way they be free-weighin'
But if you're gon' be teachin' folks things, make sure you know what you're sayin'
Older folks in our neighborhood got plenty of know-how
Remember if it wasn't for them, you wouldn't be out here now
And I ain't comin' at you with no disrespect
All I'm sayin' is that you damn well got to be correct
Because if you're gonna be speakin' for a whole generation
And you know enough to try and handle their education
Make sure you know the real deal about past situations
It ain't just repeatin' what you heard on the local TV stations.
Scott-Heron remained active until his death, releasing a new album in 2010. In one of his last interviews, with his publisher Jamie Byng, he reflected on his career but gave no sign of heading anywhere but forwards.
This comment does not directly relate to this post, but does touch on a topic mentioned in class. When "Dub" style reggae/music was shown, all I could think about was the modern, some might say infamous, style known as Dubstep. It made sense to me that Dubstep would have had to originate from an earlier form of music. You can see some pieces of it in its predecessor, with the use of bass and reverberating sound. Dubstep has become very a popular style of music to use in commercials and movie/game trailers, as it does exude a loud kind of energy. It's overly prevalent nature has led to parody, as seen near the end of this trailer for the upcoming Borderlands 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETC-RRRc9xw&feature=youtube_gdata_player. Which promises 96.5% more WUB WUB. What more can you ask for? - Sean Connell
ReplyDeleteThe Last Poets were definitely an influential group that helped shape modern day hip-hop artists, as shown in class with the very well done Common video with the cameo. They were not afraid to address societal issues yet still keeping it within the form of poetry and enticement by the style. I believe that common is not the only artist to show tribute to the last poets, as a lot of "conscious" or "underground" rappers reference them as major influences in their own music.
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