![]() ![]() ![]() There, the priest performed a ceremony and gave him the name Abiodun Oyewole. ![]() At 15, out of curiosity, Davis and a friend went to a Yoruban temple, in Harlem. Also inspiring was the poetry of Langston Hughes and his family’s gospel and jazz records. His mother encouraged him to recite The Lord’s Prayer at such volume that he could be heard throughout the family home. Oyewole was born Charles Davis, in Cincinnati, but grew up in Queens and regularly attended church in Harlem, a place of congregation, inspiration, and social measurement. Samples of “On the Subway,” from the same album, have been used by Digable Planets. “Concerto in X Minor,” by Brand Nubian and “Prolly,” by Sevyn Streeter, featuring Gucci Mane. “When The Revolution Comes,” from the Last Poets’ eponymous 1970 debut album, has been sampled in “Party and Bullshit,” by The Notorious B.I.G. Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Erykah Badu, and countless others cite The Last Poets as a major influence. Ed.Ī founding member of the American music and spoken-word group The Last Poets, Abiodun Oyewole is also known as a founding father of hip hop. Its goal was to dismantle the systems of oppression that held people of color back and inspire artists to speak out. As he explains here, the Poets’ intent was to elucidate America’s history of mistreatment of Black people with words and honest expression. Warning: some might find the use of some language here offensive (namely the N word), but it serves a higher purpose in context of the profile and subject. Reprinted from our sister paper The Village Voice, this exclusive interview with Abiodun Oyewole of the seminal collective The Last Poets is a must read for fans of hip hop and Black art. ![]()
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