DeiArecia S. Washington - African-American Timeline #3: Poetry and Hip-hop lyrics

Poetry and Hip-hop seem very unrelated, but they chracterise the Black culture in keeping the oral story telling tradition and keeping relevance to each generation. • The Last Poets and the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1968) Excerpt from "This is Madness" (1971) "All my dreams have been turned into psychedelic nightmares with Rosemary's baby pissing in my face and Tiny Tim sticking his moldy penis into my bleeding mind as it cries for the strength to repel the sanctimonious sounds of the white rock group the Grateful…DEAD! DEAD!… are my aspirations..." • ‘The revolution will not be televised' by Gil Scott-Heron (1970) Excerpt: "You will not be able to stay home, brother You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out You will not be able to lose yourself on skag And skip out for beer during commercials Because the revolution will not be televised The revolution will not be televised The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox In 4 parts without commercial interruptions The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon Blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John Mitchell General Abrams and Spiro Agnew to eat hog maws Confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary The revolution will not be televised" Read more: Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised Lyrics | MetroLyrics • The Nuyorican café (1973) Excerpt from http://www.nuyorican.org/poetry-slam/ "The first poetry slam ever in New York City was held at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in 1989, and 20 years later, we've become part of the cultural history of this city, still going strong." • Wanda Coleman (1979) Excerpt from "About God and Things" "i want to have your child cuz upon losing you i'll have more than memory more than ache more than greatness i'll have laughter i do not mean to be fatalistic know the limits put on you black man me, black woman when you are k**ed or imprisoned desert or separate from me i'll continue fill the void of your absence with love between me and ours" Spoken word poetry will go on to influence the rap and hip hop movement. • “ Gotta let you go” by Joe Hill Louis (1950) Excerpt: "Baby we all gotta go to jail but I don't care I'm tired of messin with you" • Melvin Van Peebles (1968) Excerpt of "Lilly done the Zampoughi every time I pulled her coattail" "What's the prettiest sight in the world? Some say a white on white or red on red machine Some say the connection coming around the corner Some say a plate of collard and mustard The prettiest thing I ever seen is Lilly Lilly doing the zampoughi" • Cultural Origins of Hip-Hop (1970) Excerpt from Wikipedia: "Hip hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s when block parties became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly among African American youth in the Bronx" • The Sugarhill Gang's “ Rapper's delight” (1979) Excerpt: "I said a hip hop Hippie to the hippie The hip, hip a hop, and you don't stop, a rock it to the bang bang boogie, say, up jump the boogie, to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat."