The Last Poets – books podcast

Famed for militant spoken-word poetry about black America from the height of the civil rights struggle, the Last Poets join us to perform and talk about their own battles

Celebrated for their eloquent and charged spoken-word depictions of life in black America, the Last Poets began in the aftermath of the murders of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. After performing on street corners in Harlem, their self-titled debut and follow-up This Is Madness were hugely successful. There followed a long period of personal turmoil for several members of the group, but the poets inspired a generation of hip-hop artists, musicians and poets.

With the publication of a fictionalised book about their lives, members Umar Bin Hassan, Abiodun Oyewole and percussionist Baba Donn Babatunde visited the Guardian in London with the author Christine Otten to discuss the truth behind the book, The Last Poets.