The Last Poets (album)

The Last Poets
Studio album by The Last Poets
Released	June 1970 (1970-06)
Studio	Impact Sound Studio
Genre	Spoken word jazz poetry political rap proto-hip hop
Length	31:27
Label	Douglas
Producer	East Wind Associates
The Last Poets chronology
The Last Poets (1970) This Is Madness (1971)
Singles from The Last Poets
"On the Subway" Released: 1970

The Last Poets is the debut studio album by spoken word recording artists The Last Poets. It was released in 1970 through Douglas Records. Recording sessions took place at Impact Sound Studio with production by East Wind Associates, managers of The Last Poets at the time of recording. The album peaked at #29 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and at #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States.

It spawned a single, "On the Subway", which was sampled by Digable Planets for their 1992 song "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)".^[1] The songs from The Last Poets were used by various hip hop musicians, including N.W.A, Notorious B.I.G. and Brand Nubian.^[1] The track "Wake Up, Niggers" is featured on the soundtrack album to the film Performance, also released in 1970.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Uncut	[4]

Robert Christgau wrote of the group and the album in his 1970 column for The Village Voice:

"A few weeks ago I saw an incredible performance at the Apollo by a group comprising two shouting poets and an Afro-percussionist, the first time I'd ever really dug on the 'jazz poetry' idea. The recorded version, on Douglas, is a hot seller (over 350,000) and highly recommended; acerbic and exciting and as politically uncompromising as anything ever recorded. Name of group and record: The Last Poets. Frightening and beautiful."^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Run, Nigger"	Abiodun Oyewole	1:14
2.	"On the Subway"	Alafía Pudím	1:33
3.	"Niggers Are Scared of Revolution"	Omar Ben Hassen	5:16
4.	"Black Thighs"	Omar Ben Hassen	1:31
5.	"Gashman"	Abiodun Oyewole	2:45
6.	"Wake Up, Niggers"	Alafía Pudím	2:49
7.	"New York, New York"	Abiodun Oyewole	3:36
8.	"Jones Comin' Down"	Alafía Pudím	2:51
9.	"Just Because"	Abiodun Oyewole	2:31
10.	"Black Wish"	Omar Ben Hassen	1:34
11.	"When the Revolution Comes"	Omar Ben Hassen	1:47
12.	"Two Little Boys"	Abiodun Oyewole	1:51
13.	"Surprises"	Alafía Pudím	2:09
Total length:			31:27

Personnel

• Charles Davis – poet, lead vocals (tracks: 1, 5, 7, 9, 12), backing vocals
• Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin – poet, lead vocals (tracks: 2, 6, 8, 13), backing vocals
• Umar Bin Hassan – poet, lead vocals (tracks: 3, 4, 10, 11), backing vocals
• Raymond "Nilaja" Hurrey – percussion
• Danfort Griffiths – engineering
• Doug Harris – photography

Charts

Chart (1970)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[6]	29
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[7]	3

References

1. "The Last Poets". WhoSampled.
2. Duffy, John. "The Last Poets – The Last Poets". AllMusic. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
3. Larkin, Colin (2011). "The Last Poets". Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 760. ISBN 978-0857125958.
4. Anon. (March 2003). "Review". Uncut. p. 118.
5. Christgau, Robert (June 18, 1970). "Consumer Guide (11)". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
6. "The Last Poets Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
7. "The Last Poets Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.

External links

The Last Poets – The Last Poets at Discogs (list of releases)