I haven't sat down with this full CD in many years, but I used to listen to it quite a bit. I sought it out in my late teens when I was looking for the earliest progenitors of hiphop. Indeed, the trio of Abiodun Oyewole, Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin & Umar bin Hassan are certainly making something here that sounds like rap music: rhythmic delivery of words over drums, with the other members chanting along in a way reminiscent of the unison stage routines of the earliest rap groups. They mix Black revolutionary rhetoric with finely-wrought portraits of abject urbanism, adding just enough humor to keep from sounding preachy. The poets excel at clever wordplay: check out Umar's "actors" verse of "N****rs Are Scared of Revolution," or Oyewole's double entendres on "New York, New York": "An opportunity that knocks up sisters & knocks them in the head"; "New York is a state of mind that doesn't mind fucking up a brother." (Not sure whether or not that last line inspired Nas, but I have a feeling.) They don't use rhyme, except Nuriddin on "Surprises," & even then the lines don't have a metered feel. I won't fix my mouth to debate any of the elders who consider these guys godfathers of rap, but for me it's more useful to think of a tree of Black poetry that both this & rap music are branches of.
The Last Poets don't do much preaching to the choir here. Of course there are references to the evils of white supremacy, but I think they knew the extreme unlikelihood of racist white people listening to their record, & the Black folks who would be consuming it did not need to be educated about racism. Instead, they spend most of their time on disturbing portraits of urban blights like drug addiction ("Jones Coming Down") & juvenile delinquency ("Two Little Boys"), as well as attacking Black complacency ("Wake Up N****rs," "N****rs Are Scared of Revolution"). There are lovely messages of hope as well, like "Black Wish" & "When the Revolution Comes."
Of course, several things about the album do betray blind spots. Black women are praised & appreciated, but only as providers of sex ("Black Thighs," "Gashman"). The major contributions of women to Black revolutionary causes are never addressed. Also there are several uses of the f-slur & other homophobic language--exclusively in reference to white people, effectively erasing the Black queer intersection. But 90% of this album is as bracing, confrontational & effective as it was 50+ years ago, & I have no doubt that it will be forever.
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