The Last Poets, subjects of Christine Otten’s biopic of the same name, have been selected as the opening act for this year’s Poetry International Festival, held in Rotterdam on 13-16 June.
As it says on the festival’s website:
“As pioneers of the spoken-word genre and precursors of American hip hop, The Last Poets have been a major influence and source of inspiration for writers, rappers and musicians for half a century. The group was formed in 1968, arising out of the civil-rights movement, and released their first album in 1970. Since then, The Last Poets – in changing constellations of band members – have continued to produce music and poetry that is always topical and politically provocative. Last year, twenty years after their last album, they – founding members Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan and drummer Baba Donn Babatunde – released Understand What Black Is, a strongly reggae-influenced record that ties into the Black Lives Matter movement. Of course these spoken-word giants had to feature on the Poetry International programme on the occasion of the festival’s 50-year anniversary.”
Don’t miss your chance to see these legends perform if you’re in town!