I want to be as free as the spirits of those who left
I'm talking Malcom, Coltrane, my man Yusef
Through death through conception
New breath and resurrection
For moms, new steps in her direction
In the right way
Told inside is where the fight lay
And everything a nigga do may not be what he might say
Chicago nights stay, stay on the mind
But I write many lives and lay on these lines
Wave the signs of the times
Many say the grind's on the mind
Shorties blunted-eyed and everyone wonderin' where I'm
Bush pushing lies, killers immortalized
We got arms but won't reach for the skies
Waiting for the Lord to rise
I look into my daughter's eyes
And realize that I'ma learn through her
The Messiah, might even return through her
If I'ma do it, I gotta change the world through her
Furs and a Benz, gramps wantin 'em
Demons and old friends, pops they hauntin' him
The chosen one from the land of the frozen sun
When drunk nights get remembered more than sober ones
Walk like warriors, we were never told to run
Explored the world to return to where my soul begun
Never looking back or too far in front of me
The present is a gift and I just wanna BE
I'm talking Malcom, Coltrane, my man Yusef
Through death through conception
New breath and resurrection
For moms, new steps in her direction
In the right way
Told inside is where the fight lay
And everything a nigga do may not be what he might say
Chicago nights stay, stay on the mind
But I write many lives and lay on these lines
Wave the signs of the times
Many say the grind's on the mind
Shorties blunted-eyed and everyone wonderin' where I'm
Bush pushing lies, killers immortalized
We got arms but won't reach for the skies
Waiting for the Lord to rise
I look into my daughter's eyes
And realize that I'ma learn through her
The Messiah, might even return through her
If I'ma do it, I gotta change the world through her
Furs and a Benz, gramps wantin 'em
Demons and old friends, pops they hauntin' him
The chosen one from the land of the frozen sun
When drunk nights get remembered more than sober ones
Walk like warriors, we were never told to run
Explored the world to return to where my soul begun
Never looking back or too far in front of me
The present is a gift and I just wanna BE
The new documentary Made in Amerikkka, by French director Claude Santiago chronicles the rebirth of The Last Poets, a collective of New York musicians and poets, founded in May 1968. Their name was inspired by a poem by the South African poet Keorapets Kgositsile.
Their lyrics influenced generations of wordsmiths across the world. One critic wrote that the Last Poets’ politically charged raps, taut rhythms and engagement to their community “almost single-handedly laid the groundwork to the emergence of hip-hop. Intriguingly, their musical chronicles of the US in the 60s inspired the likes of Fela Kuti, Bob Marley and Joe Strummer of the Clash.
Οι Last Poets δεν χρειάζονται συστάσεις. Παρόλο που ο αρχικός τετραμελής πυρήνας τους στην πορεία διχοτομήθηκε, με τους Suliaman El-Hadi & Jalal Mansur Nuriddin από τη μια και τους Umar Bin Hassan & Abiodun Oyewole να συνεργάζονται σε διάφορα πρότζεκτ κάτω από την επίβλεψη του Bill Laswell, το γκρουπ επιδίωξε και πέτυχε να διατηρήσει μια σταθερά προοδευτική μουσική και πολιτική συμπεριφορά, ενεργό τα τελευταία... 40 χρόνια! Προσοχή, γιατί δεν πρόκειται για το συνήθες blaxploitation-funkofusion χαρμάνισαμα που επικρατεί στην ελληνική μπαρότσαρκα τα τελευταία χρόνια. Η μουσική τους είναι μετρημένη και εκλεκτική, και αυτό που κλέβει την παράσταση είναι η απαγγελία ενός ανεπανάληπτου λόγου (λέγε με "rap") και μια από τις πιο χαρακτηριστκές φωνές στην αφροαμερικάνικη ιστορία.
Στις αρχές του 2009 προβλήθηκε ένα ντοκυμαντέρ αφιερωμένο στην πορεία τους, που έτυχε μάλιστα της έγκρισης του ίδιου του γκρουπ.
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