Biography
The Last Poets essentially established the foundation for hip-hop through raps steeped in political urgency, concise grooves, and a steadfast focus on heightening Black awareness. Originating in 1968, their fusion of inflammatory verses charged with political content and Afro-centric musical support, most often shaped by jazz, achieved broad influence, yielding surprising commercial breakthroughs with the 1970 album The Last Poets and 1971’s This Is Madness. They pursued a grander integration of jazz and poetry on 1972’s Chastisement, though the ensemble had slipped into quiet dissolution by the close of the 1970s. Hip-hop’s ascent later spotlighted their foundational contributions, prompting a return via 1985’s Oh My People and sustained activity across the 1990s. With American politics growing volatile after Donald Trump’s election, the Last Poets reentered the studio—still incisive and pertinent—to deliver 2018’s Understand What Black Is.
The ensemble emerged from the prison ordeals of Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, a U.S. Army paratrooper who opted for incarceration rather than service in Vietnam; during his confinement he embraced Islam, mastered “spiel” (an early form of rapping), and connected with fellow inmates Omar Ben Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole. Following their release, the three returned to Harlem’s impoverished neighborhoods, joined the East Wind poetry workshop, and began presenting their blend of spiels and instrumental accompaniment on local street corners.
On May 16, 1969—Malcolm X’s birthday—they formally constituted the Last Poets, taking the name from South African Little Willie Copaseely’s declaration that the period marked the final era of poets before guns assumed total dominance. A local television appearance led jazz producer Alan Douglas to sign them, resulting in the revelatory self-titled debut LP in 1970. The collection, which assailed both white oppression (“White Man’s Got a God Complex”) and Black inertia (“Niggas Are Scared of Revolution”), reached the U.S. Top Ten album charts; before touring could commence, however, Oyewole received a 14-year prison sentence for robbery and was succeeded by percussionist Nilaja.
After the 1971 sequel This Is Madness (which placed them on President Richard Nixon’s Counter-Intelligence Programming lists), Hassan aligned with a Southern religious organization; Jalal then enlisted former jazz drummer Suliaman El Hadi for 1972’s Chastisement, which employed jazz-funk frameworks to generate the sound the group termed “jazzoetry.” Following Jalal’s 1973 solo concept album Hustler’s Convention (issued under the alias Lightnin’ Rod), the Last Poets released 1974’s At Last, an excursion into free-form jazz; Nilaja departed thereafter, and aside from 1977’s Delights of the Garden the collective maintained a notably subdued presence through the rest of the decade.
Rap’s expansion in the 1980s—and the genre’s explicit acknowledgment of indebtedness to the Last Poets—transformed their early recordings into coveted collector’s items; the group resurfaced with the 1984 LP Oh, My People, followed by 1988’s Freedom Express. Another hiatus followed, during which Hassan issued the solo album 1993’s Be Bop or Be Dead while Jalal guided the British acid jazz unit Galliano. In 1995 two separate factions simultaneously revived the Last Poets name; Jalal and El Hadi collaborated on the single “Scatterrap,” whereas Hassan and Oyewole issued the album Holy Terror. The Hassan and Oyewole configuration released Time Has Come in 1997; featuring contributions from Pharoah Sanders and Chuck D. of Public Enemy, the set appeared on Mercury’s short-lived spoken-word label Mouth Almighty.
The Last Poets remained largely dormant through most of the 2000s, though they delivered a notable guest turn on “The Corner” from Common’s 2005 album Be and appeared in the 2009 documentary Made in Amerikkka. In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election, Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan determined the moment had arrived for fresh material, resulting in the May 2018 release of Understand What Black Is. Weeks later, Jalal Mansur Nuriddin succumbed to colon cancer at age 73.
The ensemble emerged from the prison ordeals of Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, a U.S. Army paratrooper who opted for incarceration rather than service in Vietnam; during his confinement he embraced Islam, mastered “spiel” (an early form of rapping), and connected with fellow inmates Omar Ben Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole. Following their release, the three returned to Harlem’s impoverished neighborhoods, joined the East Wind poetry workshop, and began presenting their blend of spiels and instrumental accompaniment on local street corners.
On May 16, 1969—Malcolm X’s birthday—they formally constituted the Last Poets, taking the name from South African Little Willie Copaseely’s declaration that the period marked the final era of poets before guns assumed total dominance. A local television appearance led jazz producer Alan Douglas to sign them, resulting in the revelatory self-titled debut LP in 1970. The collection, which assailed both white oppression (“White Man’s Got a God Complex”) and Black inertia (“Niggas Are Scared of Revolution”), reached the U.S. Top Ten album charts; before touring could commence, however, Oyewole received a 14-year prison sentence for robbery and was succeeded by percussionist Nilaja.
After the 1971 sequel This Is Madness (which placed them on President Richard Nixon’s Counter-Intelligence Programming lists), Hassan aligned with a Southern religious organization; Jalal then enlisted former jazz drummer Suliaman El Hadi for 1972’s Chastisement, which employed jazz-funk frameworks to generate the sound the group termed “jazzoetry.” Following Jalal’s 1973 solo concept album Hustler’s Convention (issued under the alias Lightnin’ Rod), the Last Poets released 1974’s At Last, an excursion into free-form jazz; Nilaja departed thereafter, and aside from 1977’s Delights of the Garden the collective maintained a notably subdued presence through the rest of the decade.
Rap’s expansion in the 1980s—and the genre’s explicit acknowledgment of indebtedness to the Last Poets—transformed their early recordings into coveted collector’s items; the group resurfaced with the 1984 LP Oh, My People, followed by 1988’s Freedom Express. Another hiatus followed, during which Hassan issued the solo album 1993’s Be Bop or Be Dead while Jalal guided the British acid jazz unit Galliano. In 1995 two separate factions simultaneously revived the Last Poets name; Jalal and El Hadi collaborated on the single “Scatterrap,” whereas Hassan and Oyewole issued the album Holy Terror. The Hassan and Oyewole configuration released Time Has Come in 1997; featuring contributions from Pharoah Sanders and Chuck D. of Public Enemy, the set appeared on Mercury’s short-lived spoken-word label Mouth Almighty.
The Last Poets remained largely dormant through most of the 2000s, though they delivered a notable guest turn on “The Corner” from Common’s 2005 album Be and appeared in the 2009 documentary Made in Amerikkka. In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election, Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan determined the moment had arrived for fresh material, resulting in the May 2018 release of Understand What Black Is. Weeks later, Jalal Mansur Nuriddin succumbed to colon cancer at age 73.
Albums
