Rap In The 1970's

Rap is a very popular music genre that originated in West Africa and the Caribbean. These musicians would tell stories rhythmically, accompanied by drums, to compose a musical piece for entertainment. When Africans were traded over to America as slaves, they sung song’s rhythmically to send messages to others; these messages would be used to help other slaves escape and find freedom (Deirde 330). Rap gained its popularity in America during the 1970’s. It was very popular among the African American youth, gangsters in particular. A recognizable rap group in this era would be “The Last Poets”, who used aggressive but socially-conscience lyrics that played a major role in the birth of Hip-Hop. There are three major time zones involved with the evolution of rap and it is the early era, mid era, and modern era. In the late 1960’s, a group of African-American started to gather frequently in Harlem, New York, to share their poetry,

The group 's members, including Abiodun Oyewole, Jaludin Nuruddin, Suliaman El-Hadi, and Umar bin Hassan, changed and divided over the years and never attained financial stability (Jones). Nevertheless, their jazz type lyrics over African-style drumming helped to inspire the expanding hip-hop sound, in turn earning the nicknames “godfathers of rap.” (Jones). Their poetry influenced and challenged many different artists and groups to speak out on political and social issues in their community and around the world, paving the way for the famous rap group “The Last Poets”. The Last Poets took to the platform for the first time on May 19, 1968, in Mount Morris Park (Marcus Garvey Park) in Harlem for a Malcolm X celebration. Malcolm and the Nation of Islam had great influence on the Last