MUSIC

The Last Poets

FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2023
7:00 PM

Performance Space New York
150 1st Avenue, East Village, Manhattan

Free
TICKETS + INFORMATION

Claims that these guys “invented rap” are, shall we say, reductionist, disregarding The Dozens, Jamaican toasting, and any number of other precursors. Which is not to say that the Last Poets’ debut album didn’t stun listeners in 1970: I can still remember my 1970 self, having been blown back to the far wall, thinking “what IS that?” It wasn’t the spoken-word-over-jazz I was (ruefully) expecting, that’s for sure; but rather something a lot a lot streeter and (important to my 1970 self) a lot more poppin’. I wanted more — and I couldn’t have anticipated how much more I’d be getting by the end of the decade. It didn’t hurt that their political acuity thrilled my 1970 self (and continues to thrill my 2023 self).

MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Rowdy Rooster: putting the heat in hot fried chicken.