Quote:
Originally Posted by This Is Not Here
Hmmm, not sure about this. It's a fucking amazing record don't get me wrong, and I understand their influence in creating rap (proto-rap, if you will), but to me listing this as one of your favourite records is like saying Velvet Underground & Nico is your favourite punk record...
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No, it would be more like saying White Light/White Heat was one of your favorite punk records, which I probably would say if pressed.
I always wonder with hip hop history why the Last Poets, and in particular that album, doesn't get stronger mentions. The mix of vocal styles, the content, the lyrics (note their reclamation of the word "nigger" decades before NWA). Yeah, they're not based firmly in funk beats since funk hadn't happened yet, but the first major evolution of hip hop from those funk roots was towards jazz, where the Last Poets had resided to begin with.