It’s difficult to overestimate the influence THE LAST POETS had on contemporary American music, and it’s impossible to not discern their imprint on today’s urban scene, from the ensemble’s prominent performance on the soundtrack to “Performance” – the film many watched thanks to the onscreen presence of a certain Rolling Stone – in 1970 onwards. There may have been a gap between 1997’s “Time Has Come” and “Understand What Black Is” which was issued in 2018, yet one album later the ensemble are ready to serve up what can become their definitive statement – because “Africanism” is bound to reconnect the veterans to their black nationalism origins via collaboration with a legendary Nigerian musician.
When the last standing POETS Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan invited Tony Allen, whose grooves fueled quite a few Fela Kuti platters, to join them in the marriage of progressive jazz and Afrobeat, they had no way of foreseeing the pandemic which would delay the release of the seven fresh cuts that will see the light of day almost five years after the drummer’s passing, but they persisted and finished the record. It hit the shelves in vinyl form on December 6th – yet the two-CD version planned for January 31st should be of more interest thanks to the addition of a cappella and instrumental tracks as well as other variants of the album numbers.
Africanism
1. This Is Madness
2. Two Little Boys
3. Just Because
4. New York, New York
5. Niggers Are Scared Of Revolution
6. When The Revolution Comes
7. Related To What
8. Gash Man
9. This Is Madness (vocal & percussion)
10. Two Little Boys (vocal & percussion)
11. Just Because (vocal & percussion)
12. New York, New York (vocal & percussion)
13. Niggers Are Scared Of Revolution (vocal & percussion)
14. When The Revolution Comes (vocal & percussion)
15. Related To What (vocal & percussion)
16. Gash Man (vocal & percussion)
17. Niggers Are Scared Of Revolution (early version)
18. This Is Madness (instrumental)
19. Two Little Boys (instrumental)
20. Just Because (instrumental)
21. New York, New York (instrumental)
22. Niggers Are Scared Of Revolution (instrumental)
23. When The Revolution Comes (instrumental)
24. Related To What (instrumental)
25. Gash Man (instrumental)
26. This Is Madness (percussion edit)
27. Two Little Boys (percussion Only)
28. Just Because (percussion edit)
29. New York, New York (percussion edit)
30. Niggers Are Scared Of Revolution (percussion edit)
31. When The Revolution Comes (percussion edit)
32. Related To What (percussion edit)
33. Gash Man (percussion edit)
34. Just Because (a cappella)
35. This Is Madness (a cappella)
36. Two Little Boys (a cappella)
37. Related To What (early version)
38. Just Because (early version)
