Holy Terror (album)

Holy Terror
Studio album by The Last Poets
Released	1995; Black Arc 1993
Genre	Funk, spoken word
Length	62:19
Label	Rykodisc[1] Black Arc Innerhythmic
Producer	Bill Laswell[2]
The Last Poets chronology
Scatterap / Home (1994) Holy Terror (1995) Time Has Come (1997)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	7/10[5]

Holy Terror is an album by rap/spoken word pioneers The Last Poets, released in 1995.^[6] The album was financed and released by P-Vine Records in Japan and then released by Rykodisc Records in the United States and the United Kingdom later that same year, with a rerelease in 2004 by Innerhythmic. The U.S. and UK releases contain a bonus track titled "Black and Strong (Homesick)."

Production

The lead figures in the Last Poets at this time were Umar Bin Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole.^[7][1] The album was part of the Black Arc Series, launched by producer Bill Laswell in 1992.

Critical reception

AllMusic wrote: "Containing some of the Poets' most trenchant political and social lyrics, Holy Terror shows the Last Poets, Umar Bin Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole, still as fiery and sharp as ever."^[3] CMJ New Music Monthly called the album "the bomb," writing that "it's as good as anything they've recorded in their 25-plus year career."^[8]

Track listing

1. "Invocation"
2. "Homesick"
3. "Black Rage"
4. "Men-tality"
5. "Pelourino"
6. "Funk"
7. "If We Only Knew"
8. "Illusion of Self"
9. "Talk Show"
10. "Black and Strong (Homesick)"
11. "Last Rites"

Personnel

• Umar Bin Hassan, Abiodun Oyewole, Grandmaster Melle Mel - voices
• Bootsy Collins - Guitars, Bass
• Bernie Worrell - Organ, Piano, Clavinet, Synthesizer
• Bill Laswell - Bass beats, Samples, Loops
• Aïyb Dieng - Congas, Chatan, Bells, Talking Drum, Doff, Tambourine, Gongs, Percussion
• George Clinton - guest vocals on "Black and Strong (Homesick)"

References

1. "Last Poets". Trouser Press. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
2. Mills, David (December 12, 1993). "THE LAST POETS" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
3. "Holy Terror - The Last Poets | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
4. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 101.
5. Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 222–223.
6. "The Last Poets | Biography & History". AllMusic.
7. Thompson, Dave (October 31, 2001). Funk. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879306298 – via Google Books.
8. "Best New Music". CMJ New Music Monthly: 14. May 1995.