Part 3 interview with Abiodun Oyewole of "The Last Poets".

Abiodun Oyewole (born Charles Davis, Jr., February 1948), is a poet, teacher and founding member of the legendary American music and spoken-word group The Last Poets that developed into what is considered the first ever hip hop group.

Abiodun was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and he moved with his maternal aunt and her new husband at age three to Queens, New York. At the age of 15, he attended a Yoruba Temple in Harlem. It was there that he was given the name by which he is best known.

Early in his life, Abiodun was influenced by jazz and gospel music played by his parents and the poems of Langston Hughes.

The group was born on May 19, 1968, Malcolm X's birthday, when Abiodun and two others, David Nelson, Gylan Kain, read poetry in tribute to Malcolm X. The group was based in black nationalism and quickly became known throughout the African-American community. They are generally credited, along with Gil Scott-Heron, as being major influences on the development of hip hop.

At one point, Oyewole was forced to leave the group as he spent four years in a North Carolina prison, convicted of larceny(he robbed the Ku Klux Klan in order to assist fellow revolutionaries). After serving two and a half years of a three year sentence, because of good behavior he was eligible for study release during the day. Oyewole continued his education at a nearby college and earned his undergraduate degree. He subsequently went on to earn a doctorate from Columbia University in New York City, where has served as a member of the faculty.

Recently, Abiodun has been touring the world giving lectures on poetry and politics.

Most recently he has taught at the Arthur Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• The Last Poets
• Abiodun Oyewole
• Minister Robert Muhamamd
• Akua Holt
• KPFT.org
• Houston
• news
• poets
• poetry
• def poetry jam