The Last Poets

Biography

The Last Poets are a pioneering African American spoken‑word and music collective that emerged from the Black nationalist currents of the late 1960s civil rights and Black Power movements in East Harlem, New York City.[1][2][3][4] Founded on May 19, 1968—Malcolm X’s birthday—at Harlem’s Mount Morris (now Marcus Garvey) Park, the original trio of Abiodun Oyewole (born Charles Davis), David Nelson (Dahveed Ben Israel), and Gylan Kain sought to create a new Black nationalist poetry that confronted racism, poverty, police brutality, and systemic oppression with uncompromising candor.[3][4][5][6][7][8] Their name was inspired by South African poet Keorapetse Kgositsile (also cited as Little Willie Kgostile), who declared his was the “last age of poets” before guns would replace words as the primary instrument of struggle, a sentiment that fit the group’s revolutionary ethos.[3][5] Performing initially as street poets with conga drummer Nilaja Obabi in Harlem and on the influential television program “Soul!,” they quickly expanded into a collective that included Felipe Luciano, Jalal Mansur Nuriddin (also known as Alafia Pudim), Umar Bin Hassan, Suliaman El‑Hadi, and percussionists Nilaja Obabi and Baba Don, among others.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Internal disagreements and political pressures led The Last Poets to split into overlapping line‑ups, both using the same name, but their recorded output in the early 1970s defined a new aesthetic that directly foreshadowed hip‑hop and rap.[2][4] The group signed with jazz producer Alan Douglas, releasing their self‑titled debut album in 1970, which reached the U.S. Top Ten album charts and featured searing pieces like “White Man’s Got a God Complex” and “Niggas Are Scared of Revolution,” followed by the equally incendiary “This Is Madness” (1971).[1][2][5] Their style fused rhythmically chanted, often rhymed political verse—sometimes derived from Jalal’s prison‑honed “spiel,” an early form of rapping—with hand percussion and sparse musical backdrops, creating a sound that was both rooted in African diasporic traditions and radically contemporary.[1][2][5] Though their popularity waned in the late 1970s, they were embraced from the 1980s onward as “grandfathers” and foundational architects of hip‑hop culture, frequently cited by rappers and DJs who sampled their recordings and pointed to Jalal’s solo concept album “Hustler’s Convention” (1973) as a blueprint for narrative street rap.[2] Across decades of changing membership, The Last Poets have continued to perform and record, maintaining their commitment to socially conscious art and leaving a lasting legacy on spoken‑word, jazz‑poetry, and global hip‑hop.[1][2][3][5]

Fun Facts

• The Last Poets officially formed on May 19, 1968 in Harlem’s Mount Morris (now Marcus Garvey) Park, deliberately choosing Malcolm X’s birthday as a symbolic founding date.[3][4][7]
• Their name comes from a concept attributed to South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse Kgositsile (also cited as Little Willie Kgostile), who said he lived in the last age of poets before guns would replace poetry, underscoring the group’s militant outlook.[3][5]
• The group’s 1970 self‑titled debut album, filled with uncompromising critiques of both white supremacy and Black complacency, reached the U.S. Top Ten album charts—an unusual achievement for a politically radical spoken‑word record.[1][2]
• Jalal Mansur Nuriddin’s solo album "Hustler’s Convention" (1973), closely associated with The Last Poets, is often singled out by later hip‑hop artists as a direct forerunner of rap concept albums and street‑level storytelling.[2]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Keorapetse Kgositsile (also cited as Little Willie Kgostile) - South African revolutionary poet whose idea that his was the “last age of poets” before the takeover of guns inspired the group’s name and militant poetic stance. (Concept behind the name "The Last Poets" rather than a specific collaborative work.) [Concept adopted at founding in 1968 and cited throughout the group’s history.[3][5]]
• Malcolm X - Central ideological and symbolic influence; the group formed on his birthday and sought to continue the Black nationalist and self‑determination principles associated with him. (Founding performance on Malcolm X’s birthday events in Mount Morris/Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem.[3][4][7]) [Referenced and honored from the group’s founding on May 19, 1968 onward.[3][4][7]]
• Black nationalist and civil rights movements - The broader Black Power, Black Arts, and civil rights movements shaped their political content, aesthetics, and community‑oriented performance practice. (Political themes embedded throughout albums such as "The Last Poets" (1970) and "This Is Madness" (1971).) [Late 1960s through 1970s, continuing as a guiding framework thereafter.[1][2][4][5][7][8]]

Key Collaborators

• Abiodun Oyewole - Founding poet and core member across various line‑ups, central writer and performer of politically charged spoken word. (Co‑founder and contributor on early performances and classic material including "The Last Poets" (1970) and group repertoire such as "Niggas Are Scared of Revolution" and "When the Revolution Comes."[1][2][3][5]) [1968–present (with interruptions, including a prison term beginning around the time of the first album’s release).[1][2]]
• David Nelson (Dahveed Ben Israel / Dahveed Nelson) - Founding member whose vision emphasized projecting Black unity and exposing oppression; part of original trio and later the Original Last Poets configuration. (Early live performances, television appearance on "Soul!", and the album "Right On" (soundtrack to the documentary film, recorded by the Original Last Poets).) [Founding in 1968; active particularly in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[2][3][4]]
• Gylan Kain - Founding poet known for intense delivery; later part of the Original Last Poets unit that recorded separately. ("Right On" (soundtrack album to the documentary film, released 1971, credited to the Original Last Poets).) [Founding in 1968; active in late 1960s and early 1970s.[2][3][4]]
• Felipe Luciano - Poet and activist who joined after David Nelson’s departure in 1968; contributed to performances before departing to help found the Young Lords. (Performances as part of the early rotating line‑ups, and later the Original Last Poets project associated with "Right On.") [Late 1968 through his departure to organize the Young Lords in the late 1960s.[2][3][4]]
• Jalal Mansur Nuriddin (also known as Alafia Pudim) - Key member who brought rhymed “spiel” rooted in prison experience; principal voice on the first two major studio albums and creator of a seminal solo project. (Albums "The Last Poets" (1970) and "This Is Madness" (1971); solo concept album "Hustler’s Convention" (1973), often cited as a progenitor of rap storytelling.[1][2][4]) [Joined after Felipe Luciano’s departure; most prominent in early 1970s line‑ups and subsequent solo work.[1][2][4]]
• Umar Bin Hassan - Poet who moved from Ohio to New York specifically to join the group, becoming a key voice in the classic early recordings. (Appears on "The Last Poets" (1970) and "This Is Madness" (1971) alongside Jalal and percussionist Nilaja.[1][2][4]) [Early 1970s core line‑up, with later returns to the group in subsequent decades.[1][2]]
• Suliaman (Sulaiman) El‑Hadi - Poet who joined later, forming a notable partnership with Jalal as the primary poetic voices in one of the group’s enduring configurations. (Part of the Jalal–Sulaiman version of The Last Poets that released six albums after 1977, though with limited promotion.[2]) [Mid‑ to late‑1970s onward, particularly active after 1977.[2]]
• Nilaja Obabi (Nilija) - Conga drummer who performed with the original trio at their debut and became a core musical collaborator on early albums. (Drummer at the group’s 1968 Harlem debut; percussion on "The Last Poets" (1970) and "This Is Madness" (1971) before his departure.[1][2][4][5]) [1968 through early 1970s classic recordings.[1][2][4][5]]
• Baba Don (Baba Donn Babatunde) - Percussionist associated with later line‑ups, contributing to the evolving musical backing of the collective. (Live and recorded performances with later incarnations of The Last Poets, as noted in collective membership lists.[3]) [Primarily post‑1970s, in later configurations of the group.[3]]
• Alan Douglas - Jazz producer who signed the group and shaped the sound and presentation of their breakthrough recordings. (Produced "The Last Poets" (1970) and "This Is Madness" (1971).) [Early 1970s, particularly 1970–1971.[1][2][5]]

Artists Influenced

• Grandfather generation of hip‑hop and rap artists (various) - Numerous hip‑hop artists have explicitly cited The Last Poets as foundational "grandfathers" of rap, particularly for their politically charged spoken word over beats and Jalal’s narrative street poetry. (Later hip‑hop works that draw on or sample their recordings; Jalal’s "Hustler’s Convention" (1973) is frequently named as a key inspiration for narrative rap.[2]) [Primarily from the rise of hip‑hop in the late 1970s and 1980s onward, with continued acknowledgment in subsequent decades.[1][2][5][8]]

Discography

Albums

Top Tracks

1. The Corner (Be)
2. The Corner
3. The Corner - Last Poet Reprise
4. When the Revolution Comes (The Last Poets)
5. You Can't Stop Us Now (Nas)
6. You Can't Stop Us Now (Nas)
7. This Is Madness (Africanism)
8. Understand What Black Is (Understand What Black Is)
9. The Corner (Be)
10. Niggers Are Scared of Revolution (The Last Poets)

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia