Along with Gil Scott-Heron, the Last Poets' role in the creation of rap music cannot be overstated. Definitely not easy listening in any sense of the term, 1972's Chastisement sets their manifestos to stripped-down arrangements of conga, bass, and sax, creating a style which one song title dubs "Jazzoetry." There's no denying the power of material such as "Before the White Man Came," which offers this closing glimpse of regretful culpability, "and now it's been 400 years since that eventful day/but if we had known what they had in mind/they all would have died in the bay/so now we are paying for our mistake/with only ourselves to blame/with memories of the good old years/before the white man came." "Black Soldier" assumes a similar position, merging a mock-marching chant with an anti-Vietnam tirade which condemns Black servicemen for indirectly assisting white oppressors back home. Alarmingly prophetic, "Black Soldier" reviews past civil disturbances and foreshadows those of the future by proclaiming, "their law enforcement will not work/whatever they conspire/will only serve to make us strong/we will fight fire with fire/no that was not a riot/that they saw down in the slums/that was a dress rehearsal/for things that's yet to come." No less compelling is the musical history lecture entitled "Bird's Word," which traces the development of blues and jazz while mentioning dozens of pioneers including Ma Rainey, Max Roach, Betty Carter, and Sun Ra. Such an education would be incomplete without experiencing the passion and fury of the Last Poets' seminal performances. ~ Vince Ripol, Rovi

1		Tribute to Obabi (Ogun)
2		Jazzoetry
3		Black Soldier
4		E Pluribus Unum
5		Hands Off
6		The Lone Ranger
7		Before the White Man Came
8		Bird's Word

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