1h 21 min
Abiodun Oyewole: co-founder of The Last Poets and convicted robber of the KKK Skull Fragments
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- Crímenes reales
Over fifty years ago, Abiodun Oyewole and a group of fellow poets in Harlem launched a form of spoken word performance that revolutionized poetry and laid the foundation for rap and hip hop. The Last Poets, as they were known, influenced and were sampled by Biggie Smalls, Common, Kanye West, and many other hip hop luminaries. Oyewole missed the group’s seminal years while he was incarcerated for having robbed a KKK office in North Carolina. In prison, he wrote poems every day, and after his release, he resumed his life as a poet and educator. Today Abiodun supervises poetry writing workshops in prisons, and recently he and the last remaining members of The Last Poets have recorded new albums and performed around the world.
Over fifty years ago, Abiodun Oyewole and a group of fellow poets in Harlem launched a form of spoken word performance that revolutionized poetry and laid the foundation for rap and hip hop. The Last Poets, as they were known, influenced and were sampled by Biggie Smalls, Common, Kanye West, and many other hip hop luminaries. Oyewole missed the group’s seminal years while he was incarcerated for having robbed a KKK office in North Carolina. In prison, he wrote poems every day, and after his release, he resumed his life as a poet and educator. Today Abiodun supervises poetry writing workshops in prisons, and recently he and the last remaining members of The Last Poets have recorded new albums and performed around the world.
1h 21 min