{"title":"The Last Poets","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"understand-what-dub-is","title":"Understand What Dub Is","description":"\u003cp\u003eLast year saw The Last Poets celebrate their 50-year anniversary with the righteous, politically-charged poetic record, \u003ci\u003eUnderstand What Black Is\u003c\/i\u003e. Now to continue the party, Brighton production-maestro Prince Fatty has reworked the album with a fresh twist and blend of smooth, dub-delights. The revolution marches on - this is \u003ci\u003eUnderstand What Dub Is\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePrince Fatty's ever-reliable work gives \u003ci\u003eUnderstand What Black Is\u003c\/i\u003e another lease of life as he maintains an undeniably slick groove throughout. Both therapeutic and warm, the soulful rhythms of \u003ci\u003eUnderstand What Dub Is \u003c\/i\u003eprovide the perfect platform for The Last Poets to delve into everything from Trump's inauguration, nods to Biggie Smalls and respect to Prince. The calm, collective and downright thought-provoking words go hand-in-hand with the roots-driven reggae medleys with ease - this is dub in its rawest form.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Studio Rockers","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP.","offer_id":50402283127115,"sku":"1060627","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/7a99429e-4d0e-46f4-ba02-7f8d53c8ea9d_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726538870"},{"product_id":"understand-what-black-is-remixes","title":"Understand What Black Is (Remixes)","description":"\u003cp\u003eHot on the heels of the first new album from The Last Poets in over 20 years, the title track \"Understand What Black Is\" gets the remix treatment from Digital Mystikz, DMZ and Deep Medi legend \"Mala\" and UK Dance music innovators and legends \"Dego and Kaidi Tatham\".\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Studio Rockers","offers":[{"title":"12\"","offer_id":50435777528139,"sku":"1038624","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"transcending-toxic-times","title":"Transcending Toxic Times","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Last Poets are widely credited as the godfathers of Hip-Hop. Transcending Toxic Times is the album that fully defines their careers and legacy. Artfully recorded and produced by Jamaaladeen Tacuma (Ornette Coleman), the album intertwines the groove of Black culture with The Last Poets powerful words and cadence. Special Guests Malik B, Ursula Rucker, Tim Motzer, and Wadud Ahmad. This record will finally define the correct blend of poetry, jazz, Hip-Hop, and Soul, with the full expectation that it will be emulated for years to come.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rope-A-Dope","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50446371094859,"sku":"1072134","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/4b42b8bd-9236-45f0-b92f-2cf2438c91bc_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727058675"},{"product_id":"its-a-trip-2","title":"Its A Trip","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis incredible trio of poets, Abiodun Oyewole,Umar Bin Hassan, Baba Donn Babatundewere not only musicians but alsoCivil Rights Activists, rising from the 60's Civil Rights Movement. They formed the group, The Last Poets, whilst in prison; after converting to Islam, they began performing the \"spoken word\" to rhythm.\n\n\nThis is a limited edition version in Lilac vinyl x150 copies only all hand numbered\n\nA - \"Delights in the Garden\" Exclusive 7\" cut for this vinyl release.\n\nThe super funky drums of Mr Bernard Purdie, one of the best drummers in the World, if I may say so myself. Stunning.\n\n\n\nB - \"It's a trip\" Vocal ACID JAZZ \/ dance gem!\n\nKiller Track. Percussive vocals; addictive and funky. Acid jazz club classic. Dare you to keep up. Once you start, you can't stop dancing. Such vibes. Environmental and racism-alerts messages chorused as early as 1977. You gotta listen to the words. Zeitgeist extraordinaire. #BLM began here.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dynamite Cuts","offers":[{"title":"7\"","offer_id":50460676849995,"sku":"2014719","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_785f9022_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727236485"},{"product_id":"the-last-poets-2","title":"The Last Poets","description":"\u003cp\u003eSeminal 1970 album from the radical free jazz \/ poetry collective credited with paving the way for hip hop. \"Proto Rap prophets of rage, their righteous indignation still burns\" Wise words from one of many 5 star reviews that make this album timelessly essential.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Celluloid","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50461735158091,"sku":"379105","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/351d818e-5689-48d4-8ca3-269fe18c765b_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727252177"},{"product_id":"understand-what-black-is","title":"Understand What Black Is","description":"\u003cp\u003eOn the 50th anniversary of the band's inception at an event in Harlem, NY to commemorate Malcolm X's birthday on 19 May 1968, influential spoken word artists, poets and commentators The Last Poets are set to make a glorious and relevant return with their first album in over 20 years, \"Understand What Black Is\".\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eProduced by Ben Lamdin (Nostaglia 77) and Brighton legend Prince Fatty \"Understand What Black Is\" is a ten-track album which speaks of a revolutionary struggle defined by both race and identity, that has never sounded more relevant.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince the initial line-up of Dahveed Nelson, Gylan Kain and Felipe Luciano formed in East Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park, The Last Poets have produced under various guises. However, it was their seminal output, namely 1970's \"The Last Poets\" under both Umar bin Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole that secured their legacy, becoming one of the most important influences in early hip hop.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe album acts as a body of work between individual members each speaking of their own personal journeys, but feeding into the much larger narrative of struggle and oppression, alongside a fervent hunger for social change. These are struggles and tests of personal resolve that have directly shaped and moulded the bands' unique sound over the course of an impressive 50 years, and their powerful and influential commentary remains as relevant as ever.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Studio Rockers","offers":[{"title":"CD.","offer_id":50463866323275,"sku":"1034090","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50463867044171,"sku":"1034091","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/b52bda90-e6bc-4869-b88d-205da89c406c_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727267688"},{"product_id":"its-a-trip","title":"Its a Trip","description":"\u003cp\u003eDynamite cuts has picked two killer tracks from the \u003ci\u003eDelights of the Garden\u003c\/i\u003e release. This outstanding band are the founders of the Jazzpoetiey style. incorparating Rap and melodic grooves. The A side is the amazing \"Its a Trip\", with its super funky groove and percussive vocal backing and the hard hitting lyrics take this song , On the flip is \"Blessed are those with Struggle\" another hard hitting groove and powerful lyrics.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dynamite Cuts","offers":[{"title":"Black 7\"","offer_id":50469540495691,"sku":"2009746","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/a0663906684_16_4192f734_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727362438"},{"product_id":"africanism","title":"Africanism","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"This is the time that we, who have benefitted from the Last Poets should\nbe able to say, 'it's the Last Poets. It's them we should be honouring,\nbecause we did not honour them for so many years_\"\nKRS One wasn't just addressing the hip hop fraternity when he uttered\nthose words by way of introducing the video for Invocation - a poem\nwritten thirty years ago, around the time of the Last Poets' last significant\ncomeback. He was speaking to everyone who's been affected by the\nword, sound and power issuing from the most revolutionary poetry ever\nwitnessed, and that the Last Poets had introduced to the world outside of\nHarlem at the dawn of the seventies.\nIn 2018 the two remaining Last Poets, Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin\nHassan, embarked on another memorable return with an album -\nUnderstand What Black Is - that earned favourable comparison with their\nseminal works of the past, whilst showcasing their undimmed passion and\nlyrical brilliance in an entirely new setting - that of reggae music. Tracks\nlike Rain Of Terror (\"America is a terrorist\") and How Many Bullets\ndemonstrated that they'd lost none of their fire or anger, and their\nessential raison d'etre remained the same.\n\"The Last Poets' mission was to pull the people out of the rubble o f their\nlives,\" wrote their biographer Kim Green. \"They knew, deep down that\npoetry could save the people - that if black people could see and hear\nthemselves and their struggles through the spoken word, they would be\nmoved to change.\"\nSeveral years later and the follow-up is now with us. The project started\nwhen Tony Allen, the Nigerian master drummer whose unique\npolyrhythms had driven much of Fela Kuti's best work, dropped by Prince\nFatty's Brighton studio and laid down a selection of drum patterns to die\nfor. That was back in 2019, but then the pandemic struck. Once it had\npassed, the label booked a studio in Brooklyn, where the two Poets voiced\nfour tracks apiece and breathed fresh energy, fire and outrage into some\nof the most enduring landmarks of their career. Abiodun, who was one of\nthe original Last Poets who'd gathered in East Harlem's Mount Morris Park\nto celebrate Malcolm X's birthday in May 1968, chose four poems that\nfirst appeared on the group's 1970 debut album, called simply The Last\nPoets. He'd written When The Revolution Comes aged twenty, whilst living\nin Jamaica, Queens. \"We were getting ready for a revolution,\" he told\nGreen. \"There wasn't any question about whether there was going to be\none or not. The truth was many of us still saw ourselves as \"niggers\" and\n\nslaves. This was a mindset that had to change if there was ever to be\nBlack Power.\"\nHe and writer Amiri Baraka were deep in conversation one day when\nBaraka became distracted by a pretty girl walking by. \"You're a gash\nman,\" Abiodun told him. The poem inspired by that incident, Gash Man, is\nrevisited on the new album, and exposes the heartless nature of sexual\nacts shorn of intimacy or affection. \"Instead of the vagina being the\nentrance to heaven,\" he says, \"it too often becomes a gash, an injury, a\nwound_\"\nTwo Little Boys meanwhile, was inspired after seeing two young boys\naged around 11 or 12 \"stuffing chicken and cornbread down their\ntasteless mouths, trying to revive shrinking lungs and a wasted mind.\"\nThey'd walked into Sylvia's soul food restaurant in Harlem, ordered big\nmeals, then bolted them down and run out the door. No one chased after\nthem, knowing that they probably hadn't eaten in days. Fifty years later\nand children are still going hungry in major cities across America and\nelsewhere. Abiodun's poem hasn't lost any relevance at all, and neither\nhas New York, New York, The Big Apple. \"Although this was written in\n1968, New York hasn't changed a bit,\" he admits, except \"today, people\njust mistake her sickness for fashion.\"\nUmar is originally from Akron, Ohio, but had arrived in Harlem in early\n1969 after seeing Abiodun and the other Last Poets at a Black Arts\nFestival in Cleveland. That's where he first witnessed what Amiri Baraka\nonce called \"the rhythmic animation of word, poem, image as word-\nmusic\" - a creative force that redefined the concept of performance\npoetry and stripped it bare until it became a howl of rage, hurt and anger,\nsaved from destruction by mockery and love for humanity. When Umar's\nfather, who was a musician, was jailed for armed robbery he took to the\nstreets from an early age where he shined shoes and raised whatever\nmoney he could to help feed his eight brothers and sisters. By the time he\nsaw the Last Poets he'd joined the Black United Front and was ready to\njoin the struggle.\nOnce in Harlem, Abiodun asked him what he'd learnt in the few weeks\nsince he'd got there. \"Niggers are scared of revolution,\" Umar replied.\n\"Write it down\" urged Abiodun. That poem still gives off searing heat\nmore than fifty years later. In Umar's own words, \"it became a prayer, a\ncall to arms, a spiritual pond to bathe and cleanse in because niggers are\nnot just vile and disgusting and shiftless. Niggers are human beings lost\nin someone else's system of values and morals.\"\nAnd there you have it. It's not just race or religion that hold us back, but\nan economic system that keeps millions in poverty and living in fear - a\nsystem born from political choice and that's now become so entrenched,\nso bloated on its own success that it's put mankind in mortal danger. It\nwas many black people's acceptance of the status quo that inspired Just\nBecause, which like Niggers Are Scared Of Revolution, was included on\n\nthat seminal first album. Along with their revolutionary rhetoric, it was the\nLast Poets' use of the \"n word\" that proved so shocking, but it would be\nwrong to suggest that they reclaimed it, since it never belonged to black\npeople in the first place. There's never any hiding place when it comes to\nthe Last Poets. They use words like weapons, and that force all who listen\nto decide who they are and where they stand.\nUmar's two remaining tracks find him revisiting poems first unleashed on\nthe Poets' second album This Is Madness! Abiodun had left for North\nCarolina by then where he became more deeply enmeshed in\nrevolutionary activities and spent almost four years in jail for armed\nrobbery after attempting to seize funds related to the Klu Klux Klan.\nMeanwhile, the 21 year old Umar was squatting in Brooklyn and had\ndeveloped close ties with the Dar-ul Islam Movement. A longing for purity\nand time-honoured spiritual values underpins Related to What, whilst This\nIs Madness is a call for freedom \"by any means necessary,\" and that\npaints a feverish landscape peopled by prominent black leaders but that\nquickly descends into chaos. \"All my dreams have been turned into\npsychedelic nightmares,\" he wails, over a groove now powered by Tony\nAllen's ferocious drumming.\nThose sessions lasted just two days, and we can only imagine the\natmosphere in that room as the hip hop godfathers exchanged the conga\ndrums of Harlem for the explosive sounds of authentic Afrobeat. Once\nthey'd finished, the recordings and momentum returned to Prince Fatty's\nstudio, since relocated from Brighton to SE London. This was stage three\nof the project, and who better to fill out the rhythm tracks than two key\nmusicians from Seun Anikulapo Kuti's band Egypt 80? Enter guitarist\nAkinola Adio Oyebola and bassist Kunle Justice, who upon hearing Allen's\ntrademark grooves exclaimed, \"oh, the Father_ we are home!\" Such joy\nand enthusiasm resulted in the perfect fusion of Nigerian Afrobeat and\nrevolutionary poetry, but the vision for the album wasn't yet complete. He\nwanted to create a new kind of soundscape - one that reunited the Poets\nwith the progressive jazz movement they'd once shared with musicians\nlike Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders. It was at that point they recruited\nexciting jazz talents based in the UK like Joe Armon Jones from Mercury\nPrize winners Ezra Collective, also widely acclaimed producer\/remixer and\nkeyboard player Kaidi Tatham, who's been likened to Herbie Hancock, and\nBritish jazz legend Courtney Pine, whose genius on the saxophone and\ninfluence on the UK's now vibrant jazz scene is beyond question.\nThe instrumental tracks on Africanism are in many ways as revelatory and\nexciting as the Last Poets' own. It's important to remember that the\nkaleidoscope of styles and influences we're presented with here aren't the\nresult of sampling but were played \"live\" by musicians responding to\nsounds made by other musicians. That's where the magic comes from,\naided by Prince Fatty's peerless mixing which allows us to hear everything\nwith such clarity. Music fans today have grown accustomed to listening to\nall kinds of different genres. Their tastes have never been so broad or all-\n\nencompassing, and so the music on this new Last Poets' album is as\ngroundbreaking as their lyrics, and perfectly suited to the era that we're\nnow living in.\n\nJohn Masouri\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Africa Seven","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50906012516683,"sku":"2230259","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50923774640459,"sku":"2235040","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_13d2bd32_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1732862991"},{"product_id":"tribute-to-obabi","title":"Tribute to Obabi","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Last Poets Limited edition 7\" VINYL COLLECTION\n\nThis is a limited edition version on Marble red vinyl hand numbered x150 only. Sampled by X Clan back in the day. Edited exclusively for Dynamite Cuts, this African rhythm takes you to a time of human percussion, and energy, of another time. The entrancing, hypnotic saxophone and extraordinary vocals fill your ears like liquid gold. Sensational.\n\n \n\nDYNAM7138\n\nA - Tribute to Obabi (Exclusive 7\" cut for this vinyl release.\n\nB - \"B - E PLURIBIS UNUM!!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dynamite Cuts","offers":[{"title":"7\"","offer_id":50989344194891,"sku":"2014752","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_151fb075_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1734541228"},{"product_id":"this-is-madness-ytirwt","title":"This is Madness","description":"\u003cp\u003eA legendary set featuring a group of extremely controversial street poets. The Last Poets used offensive language brilliantly, speaking in graphic detail about America's social and racial failures, and helping expose a wider audience to the sentiments of the '70s black nationalists. They were the forerunners of today's Afrocentric rappers, and also showed the way to a jazz-rap union now being explored on both sides of the Atlantic.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50998300574027,"sku":"2237035","price":21.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/product_id._7755a3a9_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1734784947"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/fr\/collections\/the-last-poets.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}