{"id":2441988,"date":"2019-03-21T08:00:47","date_gmt":"2019-03-21T14:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=809750"},"modified":"2019-03-21T08:00:47","modified_gmt":"2019-03-21T14:00:47","slug":"hear-the-last-poets-sobering-new-rallying-cry-for-the-millions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/music-news\/hear-the-last-poets-sobering-new-rallying-cry-for-the-millions\/","title":{"rendered":"Hear the Last Poets\u2019 Sobering New Rallying Cry \u2018For the Millions\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/The-Last-Poets-by-Sound-Evidence.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p><span>In 2018, pioneering spoken-word collective the Last Poets returned with their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/the-last-poets-rap-forefathers-talk-black-lives-matter-playing-basketball-with-wu-tang-629223\/\">first album in more than 20 years<\/a>. Now the group \u2014 consisting of Seventies-era members Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan, along with percussionist Baba Donn Babatunde and a slew of collaborators, including renowned avant-<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/jazz\/\" id=\"auto-tag_jazz\" data-tag=\"jazz\">jazz<\/a> bassist Jamaladeen Tacuma \u2014 is back with a follow-up. Due May 10th, <em>Transcending Toxic Times<\/em> finds the group addressing themes it\u2019s been tackling since its founding in Harlem in 1968, including racism, oppression and the sins of America\u2019s past.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In \u201cFor the Millions,\u201d which the group is unveiling today, Abiodun speaks in a booming, dramatic voice, chronicling the horrors of the African-American experience, from slavery (\u201cFor the millions of scars\/On their backs and faces by the bullwhips\u201d) to lynching (\u201cFor the millions \u2026\/Whose flesh has rotten\/With the trees they hung us from\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/omygf0pgsR0?version=3&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;autohide=2&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Despite the track\u2019s grim subject matter, a steady funk groove led by Tacuma\u2019s bass and Babatunde\u2019s hand drums adds a sense of resilience. By the end, Abiodun has moved from a catalog of suffering to a message of pride and uplift:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span>We decided to stop and take a look<br \/><\/span><span>At the beauty of ourselves<br \/><\/span><span>At this colored skin<br \/><\/span><span>And this thick hair<br \/><\/span><span>And these full lips<br \/><\/span><span>And this Africa inside our souls<br \/><\/span><span>Still breathing the breath of gods<br \/><\/span><span>In our lungs<br \/><\/span><span>Greatness is where we\u2019re coming from<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAt the end of \u2018For the Millions,\u2019 I say \u2018It\u2019s time to return to our spiritual home,&#8217;\u201d Abiodun says via e-mail of the song\u2019s meaning. \u201cAll of us have a spirit that should be nurtured and cherished. The spirit sees life as something sacred. The mind and body do not. I want to make living a good habit not dying. This is what America has to offer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Both Abiodun and Bin Hassan appeared on the group\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KTQlhXij66g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">first album<\/a>, long regarded as a proto\u2013hip-hop classic. \u201cThe intense Black Nationalist fare of their 1970 self-titled debut was not only politically explosive \u2014 its most famous tracks include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8M5W_3T2Ye4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">\u2018<\/a>When the Revolution Comes\u2019 and \u2018Niggers Are Scared of Revolution\u2019 \u2014 it was also nationally popular,\u201d Mosi Reeves wrote in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/the-last-poets-rap-forefathers-talk-black-lives-matter-playing-basketball-with-wu-tang-629223\/\">2018 <em>Rolling Stone<\/em> piece<\/a>, \u201cpeaking at Number 29 on the<\/span> <em><span>Billboard<\/span><\/em> <span>album charts and ultimately winding up as inspiration or samples for Notorious B.I.G. (\u201cParty &amp; Bullshit\u201d), Digable Planets (\u201cRebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)\u201d), N.W.A (\u201c100 Miles and Runnin\u2019\u201d) and more.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span>Transcending Toxic Times<\/span><\/em> <span>bassist and producer Tacuma, known for his collaborations with Ornette Coleman, Marc Ribot and many other jazz luminaries, recalls enlightening early encounters with the Poets\u2019 work while he was growing up in North Philadelphia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI was first introduced to the Last Poets \u2026 in a house that was filled with burning incense, black-light bulbs illuminating psychedelic and African-American black-light posters,\u201d he writes in an e-mail. \u201cThere I was informed and listened to explanations and depictions of the current life of African-Americans in the United States. I was young at the time but something struck me because I knew something was going on in the community and the the Last Poets brought positive consciousness and race reality to forefront of the community at large. \u2026 I was so completely inspired by the artistry, and the words of the Last Poets were the foundation of my awakening as a young black man in America.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Percussionist Babatunde tells a similar story. \u201cWhen I was 12 years old, my brother and I got a copy of the [Last Poets] album 49 years ago which was at that time the start of the Black Arts Movement, Civil Rights and Black Power struggle,\u201d he writes. \u201cThe album was a call to pay attention and look at our self from self-destruction to empowerment. What made this message unique was the drum and beat that kept you listening to the word like in a hypnotic state. My fascination with the drums drove me to where I\u2019m now. What a paradox that I find myself working with the Last Poets at their request.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Bin Hassan credits Babatunde, Tacuma and Abiodun for coming up with the new album\u2019s title and core concept. \u201cIt\u2019s about transcending toxic times with our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/poetry\/\" id=\"auto-tag_poetry\" data-tag=\"poetry\">poetry<\/a>, to get our message to the people,\u201d he writes, \u201cto get out of this madness and to start to move forward as <em>one<\/em> people, as a united people, with human decency and understanding of others.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Though \u201cFor the Millions\u201d indicates some degree of progress, Abiodun still feels that America has a long way to go. \u201cUnfortunately, nothing much has changed when it comes to racism, which is a disease like cancer,\u201d he writes. \u201cI would love to live in a world where all people of all races live without class systems or racial discrimination, but that world has not been discovered yet. There are too many insecure and jealous people in America even now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Last Poets\u2019 <em>Transcending Toxic Times<\/em> is out May 10th via Ropeadope.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Transcending Toxic Times<\/em> Track List<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1. \u201cWe Are the Last Poets\u201d<br \/>2. \u201cFor the Millions\u201d<br \/>3. \u201cA.M. Project\u201d<br \/>4. \u201cHeartbeat\u201d<br \/>5. \u201cIf We Only Knew\u201d<br \/>6. \u201cYoung Love\u201d<br \/>7. \u201cBlack Rage\u201d<br \/>8. \u201cSoul Reflection\u201d<br \/>9. \u201cDon\u2019t Know What I\u2019d Do\u201d<br \/>10. \u201cPersonal Things\u201d<br \/>11. \u201cLove\u201d<br \/>12. \u201cJuJu JIMI\u201d<br \/>13. \u201cRain of Terror\u201d<br \/>14.\u201dToxic Times\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/last-poets-new-album-transcending-toxic-times-809750\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Rolling Stone<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2018, pioneering spoken-word collective the Last Poets returned with their first album in more than 20 years. Now the group \u2014 consisting of Seventies-era members Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan, along with percussionist Baba Donn Babatunde and a slew of collaborators, including renowned avant-jazz bassist Jamaladeen Tacuma \u2014 is back with a follow-up. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2441988","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-15 20:40:13","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2441988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441988\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2441988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2441988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2441988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}