Last Poets, The

Profile:The Last Poets are a group of poets and musicians, rising from the late 1960s African American civil rights movement. Jalaludin M. Nuriddin, an Army paratrooper who chose to go to jail instead of fight in the Vietnam War, founded the group in prison after converting to Islam and learning to spiel, an earlier form of hip-hop emceeing.

With Umar Bin Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole, Nuriddin was released from prison, joined the East Wind workshop in Harlem, and began performing their spiels, along with music, on the street. The group adopted the name the Last Poets in 1969 from a South African writer named Little Willie Copaseely, who believed he was in the last era of poetry before guns would take over. They released an LP in 1970, The Last Poets, which reached the Top Ten album charts. Oyewole was arrested for robbery before a tour could begin, and he was replaced by Nilajah and featured "Whitey on The Moon," a classic protest anthem depicting social and racial divisions.

The follow-up, This is Madness, featured more radical and politically charged poems, which resulted in the group being listed as part of the counter-intelligence program founded by then-President Richard Nixon. Following that album, Hassan joined a southern-based religious sect and was replaced by Suliaman El-Hadi in time for Chastisement (1972). The album introduced a sound the group called jazzoetry, a mix of jazz and funk with poetry. At Last (1974), was a free-jazz album. The popularity of the group declined during the remainder of the 1970s, and Nilajah left.

In the 1980s, however, the group became popular with the rise of hip-hop, collaboarting with Bristol-based British post punk band the Pop Group and others. It returned to recording in its own right in 1984 with Oh, My People and its follow-up, Freedom Express (1988). Hassan and Jalal worked on several solo projects until 1995, when two groups using the name formed. Jalal and El Hadi released Scatterrap while Oyewole and Hassan released Holy Terror. The group's founding members reunited for 1997's Time Has Come, its only release to date on a major label. Recently, the Last Poets collaborated with Common on the song "The Corner."

The Last Poets stands as the true originator of hip-hop emceeing. With withering attacks on everything from racists to the American government to the bourgeoisie, their spoken-word albums preceded politically laced R&B projects such as Marvin Gaye's What's Going On and foreshadowed the work of hard-hitting hip-hop groups such as Public Enemy.
URLs:http://www.thelastpoets.net/
http://www.grandfatherofrap.com
http://www.umarbinhassan.com
Members:Abiodun Oyewole, Gylan Kain, Jalaludin M. Nuriddin, Suliaman El-Hadi, Umar Bin Hassan
Name Variations: All | Last Poets, The | Last Poets | Poets, The
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Releases:
The Last Poets (Album) ◄ (8 versions)   Douglas ... 1970
Right On! (Original Soundtrack) (Album) ◄ (2 versions)   Juggernaut Records ... 1971
This Is Madness (Album) ◄ (7 versions)   Douglas ... 1971
Chastisment ◄ (3 versions)   Blue Thumb Records ... 1972
At Last (LP)   Blue Thumb Records 1973
Jazzoetry ◄ (2 versions)   Douglas ... 1976
Delights Of The Garden ◄ (3 versions)   Douglas ... 1977
Long Enough (12")   Kee Wee Records 1984
Get Movin' (Single) ◄ (2 versions)   Celluloid 1985
Oh My People (Album) ◄ (5 versions)   Celluloid ... 1985
Freedom Express ◄ (4 versions)   Acid Jazz ... 1988
Oh My People & Delight Of The Garden (CD, RE)   Mau Mau Records 1992
Retro-fit (CD)   Celluloid 1992
Holy Terror (Album) ◄ (4 versions)   Rykodisc ... 1993
A Mega Mental Message From The Last Poets (CD, Promo, Ltd)   Bond Age 1994
Scatterap/Home (CD, Album)   Bond Age 1994
Black And Strong (Homesick) (Maxi) ◄ (2 versions)   Rykodisc 1995
Beats Rhyme + Revolution (CD)   Music Club 1997
Time Has Come (CD)   Mercury 1997
Time Has Come - Sampler (LP)   Mercury 1997
It's A Trip (12")   Original Sound Track Recordings 2000
Panthers (12")   Counterflow Recordings, Traffic Entertainment Group 2004
This Is Madness / The Wild Style (12")   Black Beats 2004
Tuxedo Rap (Soul Sister Re-Edit) / Garden Of Delights (Re-Edit) (12", Promo)   Pokerdice 2006
O.D. (7")   Douglas Music  
The Prime Time Rhyme Of The Last Poets - Best Of Volume 1 (LP)   On The One  
The Prime Time Rhyme Of The Last Poets - Best Of Volume 2 (LP)   On The One  
True Blues (7")   Douglas  
Production:
Jazz Juice # 1 (Comp) ◄ (2 versions) It's A Trip (Original ... Beechwood Music ... 1994
Appears On:
The Third Power (Album) ◄ (2 versions)   Axiom 1991
No More Prisons ◄ (2 versions) More Prisons... Raptivism 1999
ME FRTV (CD) C'mon Family NorteSul 2000
C' Mon Family E.P. (12")   Select Cuts 2003
King Size Dub Chapter Nine (CD) C'Mon Family Dub Echo Beach 2003
Trust. Belief. Love. Respect. (CD) C'mon Family Select Cuts 2003
No More Prisons Volumes 1 & 2 (2xCD, Comp) No More Prisons... Raptivism, Penalty Recordings 2004
The Corner (Maxi) ◄ (6 versions)   Geffen Records 2004
Be (Album) ◄ (9 versions) The Corner Geffen Records ... 2005
Funkymix 87 (CD) The Corner (Mix by Sta... Ultimix 2005
Go! (CD, Enh) The Corner (Remix - Main) Universal Island Records 2005
Supreme, Supreme / Corners (12", Promo) Corners Word Of Mouth 2005
Tale #9 (CDr, Mixed) The Corner www.hiphopvinyl.de 2005
Getting Out Our Dreams: The Class Of '06 Mixtape (CDr) The Corner Truelements 2006
RMX Project: Revisit One (CD, Comp, Mixed, Dig) The Corner www.hiphopvinyl.de 2006
A Beauty Returns (CD, Album) Something Pretty Diggin 4 Brown 2007
Untitled (Album) ◄ (3 versions) You Can't Stop Us Now,... Def Jam Recordings ... 2008
Tracks Appear On:
Performance: Original Motion Picture Sound Track ◄ (2 versions) Wake Up, Niggers Warner Bros. Records 1970
Jazz Juice 2 (Comp) ◄ (2 versions) It's A Trip Street Sounds 1985
Trilogy (3xLP) Get Movin' Celluloid 1985
Beat Freaks (Comp) ◄ (3 versions) Get Movin' Celluloid ... 1986
Jazz Juice 6 (Comp) ◄ (2 versions) It's A Trip Street Sounds 1987
Deconstruction - The Celluloid Recordings (2xCD, Comp) Get Movin', Oh My People Celluloid 1994
Jazz Juice # 1 (Comp) ◄ (2 versions) It's A Trip (Original ... Beechwood Music ... 1994
Cross That Line (CDi, Pro) Pelourinho, Men-tality Rykodisc 1995
Panther - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Album) ◄ (2 versions) Don't Give Me No Brocc... Mercury 1995
Celluloidfunk - Avant Garde Grooves From Celluloid (CD, Comp) Oh My People Charly Schallplatten GmbH 1997
Materialism (CD) Get Movin' Charly Schallplatten GmbH 1998
Stand Up And Be Counted (Soul, Funk And Jazz From A Revolutionnary Era) ◄ (2 versions) When The Revolution Comes Harmless 1999
Funk Essentials (4xCD) When The Revolution Comes Beechwood Music 2000
Blax-Plosion (2xCD, Comp, Gat) Delights Of The Garden... Charly Records Ltd. 2001
Doing The James Brown - In The Footsteps Of The Godfather Of Funk ◄ (2 versions) James Brown Harmless 2001
Spirit Of Funk 2 (2xCD, Comp) It's A Trip Wagram 2001
Black & Proud - The Soul Of The Black Panther Era (2xLP, Comp) Black Wish, Down To Now Trikont 2002
Black & Proud Vol. 1 (CD) Panther, Black Wish Trikont 2002
Breaks Sessions (2xCD, Comp) Tribute To Obabi Sessions 2002
Breaks Sessions (2xCD, Comp) Tribute To Obabi Sessions 2002
Fusion Beats (CD) It's A Trip Cutting Edge 2002
Tribe Vibes Vol. 3 (2xLP) Tribute To Obabi, Time Strictly Breaks Records 2002
Troublemakers - Stereo Pictures Vol. 02 (CD) The Courtroom / Album ... MK2 Music 2002
King Size Dub Chapter Nine (CD) C'Mon Family Dub Echo Beach 2003
Ghetto Funk Sessions (2xCD, Comp) Delights Of The Garden Sessions 2004
Les Trésors Cachés - 50 Ans De Rock (CD) Niggers Are Scared Of ... Les Inrockuptibles 2004
Radio Clash (CD) On The Subway Mojo Magazine 2004
Black & Proud Vol. 2 (CD, Comp) Down To Now Trikont 2005
Light In The Attic Records Sampler 2.0 (CD, Smplr, Promo, Mixed) O.D. Light In The Attic 2005
Remix Champ (CDr, Album) Are You Ready Niggas R... Not On Label 2005
Simply Soul - 4 Cd's Of Essential Soul Music (4xCD, Comp) Delights Of The Garden Union Square Music 2005
The Original Funk Soul Brothers And Sisters! (CD) When The Revolution Comes Uncut Magazine 2005
25 Ans Radio Nova (25xCD, Comp + Box, Ltd) New York, New York Nova Records 2006
Destination: Boogie (2xCD, Comp) Long Enough Z Records 2006
The Celluloid Years - 12"es And MORE... (2xCD) Get Movin' (Original 1... Collision: Cause Of Chapter 3 2006
Stooges Jukebox (CD, Album) Run Nigger Mojo Magazine 2007
Innerhythmic Cause And Effect (CD, Smplr) Black And Strong Innerhythmic 2008
Nova En 25 CD (La Boite Bleue) (25xCD, Comp + Box) It's A Trip Nova Records 2008
Rebel Music (CD, Comp) When The Revolution Comes Mojo Magazine 2008
The Electric Finger (CDr, Mixed) E Pluribus Unum Not On Label 2008
Fabric 47 (CD, Comp, Mixed) When The Revolution Comes Fabric (London) 2009
Malcolm X - Music And Dialogue From The Original Soundtrack Of The Motion Picture (CD) Niggers Are Scared Of ... Warner Bros. Records  
Unofficial Releases:
Cool Common Collected: A Fine Collection Of Remixes & Rarities (CD, Album) The Corner (Remix) Chi Town Gettin' Down Inc. 2006
Jazz Juice Vol. 10 (12") It's A Trip Not On Label (Street Sounds Bootlegs)  
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