''Holy Terror'' is an album by rap/spoken word pioneers

The Last Poets The Last Poets are several groups of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African-American civil rights movement's black nationalism. The name is taken from a poem by the South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, who bel ...

, released in 1995. The album was financed and released by P-Vine Records in Japan and then released by

Rykodisc Records Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record la ...

in the United States and the United Kingdom later that same year, with a rerelease in 2004 by Innerhythmic. The U.S. and UK releases contain a bonus track titled "Black and Strong (Homesick)."

Production

The lead figures in the Last Poets at this time were

Umar Bin Hassan Umar Bin Hassan (born Gilbert Jerome Huling in Akron, Ohio, 1948) is an American poet and recording artist, associated with The Last Poets. He sold his younger sister's record player to purchase a bus ticket to New York City, where he joined the L ...

and

Abiodun Oyewole Abiodun Oyewole (born Charles Davis, February 1948), is a poet, teacher and member of the African-American music and spoken-word group The Last Poets, which developed into what is considered to be the first hip hop group. Critic Jason Ankeny ...

. The album was part of the Black Arc Series, launched by producer

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, w ...

in 1992.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote: "Containing some of the Poets' most trenchant political and social lyrics, ''Holy Terror'' shows the Last Poets, Umar Bin Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole, still as fiery and sharp as ever." ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'' called the album "the bomb," writing that "it's as good as anything they've recorded in their 25-plus year career."

Track listing

#"Invocation" #"Homesick" #"Black Rage" #"Men-tality" #"Pelourino" #"Funk" #"If We Only Knew" #"Illusion of Self" #"Talk Show" #"Black and Strong (Homesick)" #"Last Rites"

Personnel

Grandmaster Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961 in The Bronx), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel (or simply Melle Mel) () is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furiou ...

- voices *

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and singer. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins established himself as one of the leading n ...

- Guitars, Bass *

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll ...

- Organ, Piano, Clavinet, Synthesizer *

- Bass beats, Samples, Loops *

Aïyb Dieng Aïyb Dieng is a Senegalese drummer and percussionist specializing in hand drums. He has recorded two solo album, including ''Rhythmagick'' (1995), and has worked with a wide range of musicians, including as a regular collaborator of bassist/pro ...

- Congas, Chatan, Bells, Talking Drum, Doff, Tambourine, Gongs, Percussion * George Clinton - guest vocals on "Black and Strong (Homesick)"

References

{{Authority control 1993 albums Albums produced by Bill Laswell Rykodisc albums The Last Poets albums 1990s spoken word albums Spoken word albums by American artists