The Last Poets

The Last Poets

The Last Poets are a spoken word and poetry group from East Harlem, United States, active from 1968 to the present. The group emerges from the late 1960s African American civil rights movement and its black nationalist strand, combining poetry with music and performance. Their name comes from a poem by South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, who uses the phrase to suggest a final poetic era before guns take over.

Formation and early line-up

The original group forms on 19 May 1968 at Marcus Garvey Park, formerly Mount Morris Park, on 124th Street and Fifth Avenue in East Harlem. The first line-up consists of Felipe Luciano, Gylan Kain and David Nelson. The group later develops through a 1969 Harlem writers’ workshop called East Wind.

Core members and recordings

Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, Umar Bin Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole, together with percussionist Nilaja, are generally regarded as the group’s core members. They appear on the group’s 1970 self-titled debut, which is contracted by producer Alan Douglas, best known for his work with Jimi Hendrix, and they also feature in different combinations on later releases. Other early East Wind participants, including Luciano, Kain and Nelson, also record separately as The Original Last Poets and gain recognition as soundtrack artists for the 1971 film Right On!.

Style

The Last Poets are identified with jazz poetry, poetry and spoken word, and are also associated with hip-hop, funk and jazz in festival listings and genre descriptions. The group’s work is rooted in spoken performance and rhythmic delivery, with members moving between poetry and music.

Members

The group includes David Nelson, Suliaman El-Hadi, Umar Bin Hassan, Jalal, Felipe Luciano, Nilaja Obabi, Abiodun Oyewole and Gylan Kain.