By David Augustin and Nathan Liu

1. By David Augustin and Nathan Liu

2. Their Roots • Formed on May 19, 1968, the birthday anniversary of Malcolm X in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem • Started with only three members that day but grew to seven and a drummer including David Nelson, GylanKain, and AbiodunOyewole, Felipe Luciano, Umar Bin Hassan, JalalNurridin, and Suliamn El Hadi, and Nijala • All the artists are from the greater New York City area, except Bin Hassan who sold his sister’s record player to move from Akron, Ohio.

3. What’s with the name?? • They took their name from a poem by South African poet Willie Kgositsile, who gravely declared the necessity of putting aside poetry in the face of looming revolution. "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."

4. What is the Revolution? • The Last Poets were born in the beliefs of Malcolm X and was very entrenched in the belief of duality and the fight that eventually would come from that. • And as Malcom X did, they later changed their changed their views: “Back then, I wanted to see everything burned and people hanged. I wanted to see riots. The one thing that stopped me in my tracks was this guy speaking at one of our forums. 'You can't really be a revolutionary until you know the kind of world that you want your kid to live in.’Now, my whole thing is, we have to see how we can be the greatest part of us, which is the healing part of us. This self-empowerment mode is where I'm at. I'd rather that folks learn how to save themselves before they kill themselves. That's what I'm trying to do.”

5. Their Message and its Delivery • Some aesthetics artist like to try to keep their message subtle and make you think intrinsically. Not the Last Poets. A deaf man could understand the words of the Last Poets. They were brash, vulgar, and explicit. • Speaking on his lyrics Oyewole said: “It came off the screen like you could see all the rattlesnakes coming right at you. That's what I'm talking about. I'm not going to fake it on you. I'm going to give it to you. That's the Last Poets' trademark. To undress language and make it naked. Look at that butt, all the cellulite, everything.” God Complex • They also were out to to inform African Americans of injustices and beautiful parts of their history some of which we learned in this class. Before the White Man Came

6. Their Legacy • The Last Poets are seen as one of the fathers of Hip Hop. They were rhyming over a beat way before MCs and DJs were even thought up. • Found success in record sales despite being produced by non-mainstream record labels and keeping their foundation. • They still tour today, speaking at colleges and schools. It their plan to set up poetry centers around the U.S, and nurture children in rhyme.

7. Oyewole’s View on Today’s Hip Hop • “Hip Hop has become a circus. The vehicle is still the same, but the artists, the drivers are silly. We know they’re doing this because niggas are trying to get paid, but see a lot of people are on the line to be niggas and they’re being paid to be sleazy and greasy.” Oyewolespoke of the importance, or lack thereof, of rhyme in poetry. While their use of rhythm and rhyme probably had a significant impact on what would become Hip Hop music, Oyewole stated that rhyme should come second to substance and that “You can?t just talk because your mouth runs.”