THE LAST POETS

Goddamn! It isn't very often in this town that you leave a bar feeling enlightened and sick to your stomach at the same time. It happened to me last month. Little Brothers was full of people who came out to show their support for local poets and pay homage to the Godfathers of Hip-Hop themselves: The Last Poets. To get the night started right, we were given two hours of spoken word; many poets, many pieces. Some were so gut-wrenching in their intensity that I felt like I was going to throw up. Some were so fucking funny that they brought tears to my eyes. We’ve got some talent up in this town. Especially impressive were Inity (peep him out at Avalon), and Pseudy. Ill Logic gave us some words to make us think and some beats to nod our heads to. And then The Last Poets took the stage. For those of you not down, The Last Poets have been around longer than some of us have been alive. Born in a park in Brooklyn in 1968, this band has been giving us words of wisdom with no politically-correct, soft-core, I-ain't-trying-to-hurt-nobody's-feelings bullshit for a long time. Pieces that were written over thirty years ago still ring true today, like “This Is Madness” and “Love”. We also got to hear the piece that DIDN'T get aired on The Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on HBO titled “America is a Terrorist”. Prefaced by the warning that, if you salute the flag or are a patriot, now is the time to get the fuck out, this piece addressed all of the governmental and sociological issues that make our society suck so horribly. And then they turned around and gave us something to laugh about. These guys are knowledge, truth, and talent. A big thank you to Carl, Roots Records, Little Brothers, DJ RJD2, all of the local poets, and The Last Poets for a night that none of us who were there will soon forget.