the last poets

"When the moment hatches in time's womb there will be no art talk. The only poem you will hear will be the spearpoint pivoted in the punctured marrow of the villain....Therefore we are the last poets of the world."
-South African poet, Keorapetse William Kgositsile



The Last Poets were born on May 19, 1968, at a celebration of Malcolm X's birthday. The seven (and seven seems like a fitting number) Black men who at one time or another were a part of the group are: David Nelson, Gylan Kain, Abiodun Oyewole, Felipe Luciano, Umar Bin Hassan, Jalal Nurridin, and the late Suliaman El Hadi.

Several are Muslim, but most are not. One (David Nelson) has become a Christian minister. One (Abiodun Oyewole) helped to found a Yoruba village in South Carolina. Some have re-defined themselves by giving themselves new names. Some have kept the names they were given at birth. The one Afro-Latino member (Felipe Luciano) was a co-founder of the Young Lords Party (a Puerto Rican group modelled on the Black Panthers).

The seven Black men who at one time or another were a part of the Last Poets manifested in themselves a wide and varied expression of the African-American (male) experience, both the positives and the negatives. One such negative is a minor turf war over who even gets to use the name "the Last Poets". Suliaman El-Hadi and Jalal Nuriddin, two Muslim members, have a released a few albums (with more Islamic lyrical content) under the name "Last Poets". But Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan have also released albums, and performed using the name as well (most recently on Def Poetry Jam). I'm not sure if religion was a part of the split between them but the lines seemed like they were drawn that way.


In the book "On a Mission", written by Umar and Abiodun (with Kim Green), Umar
says:

I was into the Islamic thing for a while . It touched me, like it touches a lot of brothers who come out of the streets. The religion touches you because the first thing you learn is how to let go of arroogance, indifference, harshness, and coldness. For those who can agrasp the whole idea, it lets you give yourself to your lord and to find your true power.

(Although he later says he became disillusioned with the movement and went back to the streets. This is all before the more recent revival of the Last Poets which some would credit to the release of Umar Bin Hassan's solo album "Be Bop or Be Dead" in the early 90's )

A lot more could be said about the Last Poets and the lives of their members: Their status as the godfathers of conscious hip-hop, their importance as the voice of the 60's and 70's, their connections to the Black Panthers, contributions to Black, Latino, Muslim-American culture, etc.

But here are a few links to give further background information and perspective:


Jalal Mansur Nuriddin's webpage
interview with Abiodun Oyewole an original member of the group
A second interview with Abiodun
general history of the group by Professor R.A.P.
a brief page from This Far By Faith a PBS series about how religious faith acts in people's lives which touched on the Last Poets and Abiodun Oyewole.
a brief biography of Umar bin Hassan
the contrasts between the Last Poets and contemporary hip-hop
The 13 Point Program of the Young Lords from the Sixties Project website
A brief history of the Young Lords
The Young Lords in the context of Puerto Rican gangs in Chicago