Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin (July 24, 1944 – June 4, 2018) was an American poet and musician. He was one of the founding members of

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 ...

, a group of poets and musicians that evolved in the 1960s out of the Harlem Writers Workshop in New York City. He was born Lawrence Padilla in

Fort Greene Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the wes ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, USA. Earlier in his career he used the names Lightnin' Rod and Alafia Pudim. He is sometimes called "The Grandfather of Rap". A devout

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, poet, acupuncturist, and martial art exponent (a practitioner of a form of

Bak Mei Bak Mei () is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders — survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Monastery by the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) — who, according to some accounts, betrayed Shaolin to the imperial g ...

), Nuriddin's talent and genius with words and rhythm are renowned and he produced some epic poems such as "Be-Yon-Der", an 18-minute piece on The Last Poets 1977 album ''Delights of the Garden'', which was originally released on Douglas Records, and later on

Celluloid Records Celluloid Records, a French/American record label, founded by Jean Georgakarakos (sometimes shortened to Jean Karakos) operated from 1976 to 1989 in New York City, and produced a series of eclectic and ground-breaking releases, particularly in the ...

Early life

Jalal Mansur Nuriddin grew up in Fort Greene, a neighborhood of project buildings near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Running with a local gang, the Fort Greene Chaplains, they fought a street rivalry with the Bed-Stuy Bishops, from further up on Myrtle Ave which ran thru both neighborhoods. He was incarcerated during this period. He was given early release on condition that he join the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, where he trained as a

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...

but was imprisoned again within the Army for refusing to salute the American

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

. He did, however, receive an

honourable discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and th ...

and went to work for a bank on

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

. It was his experience there that spawned his poem "E-Pluribus Unum", from 1973's ''Chastisement''. Nuriddin converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

while in jail and in 2003 went on a pilgrimage to Mecca. While in jail he learned to spiel, an early form of

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, which he called "spoagraphics" or "spoken

picture An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

s". It was also known as toasting, which was a form of rhythmic spoken poetry accompanied by ''ad hoc'' percussion by prison inmates, such as the famous Signified Monkey toast popularised by comedian

Dolemite ''Dolemite'' is a 1975 American blaxploitation crime comedy film and is also the name of its principal character, played by Rudy Ray Moore, who co-wrote the film and its soundtrack. Moore, who started his career as a stand-up comedian in ...

(not to be confused with the "

toast Toast most commonly refers to: * Toast (food), bread browned with dry heat * Toast (honor), a ritual in which a drink is taken Toast may also refer to: Places * Toast, North Carolina, a census-designated place in the United States Books * '' ...

" of Jamaican DJs, which is more

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

than rap).

The Last Poets

Nuriddin joined the first version of The Last Poets, with members Gylan Kain, David Nelson, and

Felipe Luciano Felipe Luciano (born 1947, East Harlem, New York City) is a poet, community activist, journalist, media personality, and politician. He is of Afro-Puerto Rican heritage. He is known for his significant involvement in both the Young Lords Party an ...

, but left before the trio recorded and released their only album, ''Right On'', in 1967, the soundtrack to a documentary movie of the same name. As he informed them of the intention to form his own group called

, the ''Right On'' album was released under the name The Original Last Poets. Together with

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 the late Nilja, their percussionist, he released in 1969 the self-titled first album ''The Last Poets'', followed in 1970 by ''This Is Madness''. In 1971 That follow-up album landed the group on President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

Cointelpro COINTELPRO ( syllabic abbreviation derived from Counter Intelligence Program; 1956–1971) was a series of covert and illegal projects actively conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltrati ...

radicals list targeted for surveillance by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

. At the time his name was still credited as Alafia Pudim, but he later changed it to the Islamic name (Jalaluddin – The Glory of the Faith, Mansur – Victorious, Nuriddin – The Light of the Faith) by which he is known today. Nuriddin's fellow poet and friend the late Suleiman El-Hadi replaced Nilja on the third album, ''Chastisement''. and also recorded 1974's ''At Last'' (the only recording to include Nuriddin, Bin Hassan, and El-Hadi together). Altogether, there were six albums released by the Nuriddin / El-Hadi "mach two" edition of the Poets, culminating with 1993's ''Scatterap/Home''. Later members included Kenyatte Abdur-Rahman, composer and vibraphonist (who died in November 2015) on the album ''Scatterap/Home'', and Abu Mustafa (also deceased). "Lightnin' Rod" was the pseudonym of Nuriddin when he released his seminal 1973 '' Hustlers Convention'' LP, featuring tracks such as "Sport" and "Spoon" and "Coppin' Some Fronts for the Set". The album released on United Artists featured Tina Turner and the Ikettes, Bernard Purdie,

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

Cornell Dupree Cornell Luther Dupree (December 19, 1942 – May 8, 2011) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis and Steve Gadd, appeared on David Letterman,

, and

Kool and the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...

. Most of the lyrics deal with the way of life in ghettos, i.e. hustling, drugs, gambling and money with the outcome being a shoot out with the cops followed by jail where the hustlers learn "The whole truth". A sequel, ''The Hustlers Detention'' is purportedly in the pipeline with the final part being "The Hustlers Ascension". Hustlers convention has been sampled by many Hip-Hop artists, producer Ron Saint Germain had declared it to be "one of the most stolen and sampled albums ever made". In April 2008 he reunited and reconciled with fellow Last Poets Umar Bin Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole, along with David Nelson and Felipe Luciano, all of whom appear in ''Made in Amerikkka'', a documentary by French film-maker Claude Santiago. Bin Hassan recalled in a Billboard magazine article how the fiery and passionate Last Poets in the 70's said things they shouldn't have said. “we were all young men, 19, 20 years old. What do we know, really, about the world, about ourselves, America, race relations?” Nuriddin did an album for

Adrian Sherwood Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958, London, England) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing technique ...

and the single "Mankind, Pt. 2", produced by

Skip McDonald Skip McDonald (born Bernard Alexander, September 1949) Allmusic biography/ref> is an American musician who also performs under the stage name Little Axe. Career Early career Grounded in blues music learned from his father, a steel worker who ...

and released on

's label On-U Sound, can be heard over the closing credits of the film ''187''. Nuriddin and the Last Poets also had a cameo appearance in

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

's 1993 film ''

Poetic Justice Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, henc ...

'', starring

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

and

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

2000–2018

In 2004, Nuriddin wrote the foreword to

Malik Al Nasir Malik Al Nasir, born Mark Trevor Watson (1966, Liverpool, England) is a British author and performance poet, born to a Welsh mother and a Guyanese father. Malik is the band leader of Malik & the O.G's. Spurred by discovering his striking resem ...

's poetry collection '' Ordinary Guy'', published under Malik's pre-Islamic name Mark T. Watson in the UK by Fore-Word Press. Nuriddin was also featured in the documentary ''Word Up – From Ghetto to Mecca'', along with poets

Gil Scott Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jacks ...

, Mark T. Watson a.k.a. Malik Al Nasir,

Rod Youngs Rod, Ror, Ród, Rőd, Rød, Röd, ROD, or R.O.D. may refer to: Devices * Birch rod, made out of twigs from birch or other trees for corporal punishment * Ceremonial rod, used to indicate a position of authority * Connecting rod, main, coupling, ...

(Gil Scott-Heron's Amnesia Express) and dub poet

Benjamin Zephaniah Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (born 15 April 1958)Gregory, Andy (2002), ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, p. 562. . is a British writer and dub poet. He was included in ''The Times'' list of Britain's top 50 post-wa ...

, where he discussed the significance of the spoken word as an extension of the African oral tradition, as well as the origins of rap and the work of his student and friend Malik Al Nasir. In the film Nuriddin recites from Al Nasir's book ''Ordinary Guy'' the poem he wrote as a foreword to it, called "Malik's Mode". Nuriddin also later recorded "Malik's Mode" with Al Nasir's band " Malik & the O.G's" for the album ''Rhythms of the Diaspora Vol's 1 & 2'' at Mercredi 9 Studios in Paris, while filming the ''Word Up'' documentary. The album ''Rhythms of the Diaspora Vol's 1 & 2'' was released on August 1, 2015, on Mentis Records in the UK. Nuriddin returned to the UK in 2014 to perform live the seminal solo album ''Hustlers Convention'', credited as being the first ever rap album live at the

Jazz Café The Jazz Cafe is a music venue in Camden Town, London. It opened in 1990 on the former premises of a branch of Barclays Bank and has had several owners throughout its history as a music venue. In 2020 the Jazz Cafe celebrates its 30th year, h ...

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

, London. The event was produced by Fore-Word Press for Riverhorse Communications, who filmed it as part of a documentary on the forgotten roots of rap called ''Hustlers Convention''. The executive producer is

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

's front man Chuck D. The film ''Hustlers Convention'', directed by Mike Todd, premiered at Docfest in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, UK, in 2015, with its London premiere at the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...

, on June 14, 2015. The ''Hustlers Convention Live'' featured The

Jazz Warriors The Jazz Warriors were an English all-black London-based group of jazz musicians, that made its debut in 1986. The idea for the band came from the Abibi Jazz Arts, a London organization that promoted black music and black culture. The Jazz War ...

International Collective, Malik & the O.G's and poet

Lemn Sissay Lemn Sissay FRSL (born 21 May 1967) is a British author and broadcaster. Sissay was the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics, has been chancellor of the University of Manchester since 2015, and joined the Foundling Museum's board of trus ...

. The UK DVD release of the historical ''Hustlers Convention'' was in 2015. After the film premiered in the UK at Docfest 2015 it went on general release throu
Kaleidoscope
and premiered in New York a
TriBeca
Film Festival 2015 for its USA cinema release. Nuriddin screened the film also i
Canada
in 2016 as part of a tour with UK poet Malik Al Nasir called
The Revolution Will Be Live
, comprising seminars, poetry performances, school visits, workshops and joint screenings of Al Nasir's film also featuring Nuriddin, called Word-Up. Jalal died after a long battle with cancer on June 4, 2018.

Selected discography

*''On The One'' *''The Fruits of Rap'' *''Science Friction'' *''Mean Machine'' (1984) 12"

The Last Poets

*''Long Enough'' 12" (The Last Poets)

Lightnin' Rod

*'' Hustlers Convention'' (1973,

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

Douglas Records Cat No: UA-LA156-F, featuring

King Curtis Curtis Ousley (born Curtis Montgomery; February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musicia ...

Eric Gale Eric Gale (September 20, 1938 – May 25, 1994) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. ''Early life and career'' Born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, Gale grew up in a diverse household. His paternal grandfather was from Yorksh ...

Gene Dinwiddie Gene Dinwiddie (born Charles Eugene Dinwiddie; September 19, 1936 in Louisville, Kentucky, United States – January 11, 2002 in La Puente, Los Angeles, California, aged 65Social Security Death Index for Charles E. Dinwiddie, born 19 September 1936 ...

Buzz Feiten Howard "Buzz" Feiten (born November 4, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, session musician, and luthier. He is best known as a lead and rhythm guitarist and for having patented a tuning system for guitars and similar instruments. ...

Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...

engineers

Tony Bongiovi Anthony C. Bongiovi (born September 7, 1947) is an American record producer and recording engineer. He is the cousin of musician Jon Bon Jovi. Career Bongiovi has produced records by Gloria Gaynor, Talking Heads, Aerosmith ('' Classics Live''), ...

and

Ron Saint Germain Ron Saint Germain (alternate spellings Ron St. Germain, Ron Saint-Germaine and similar) is an American record producer, audio engineer, and mixer born in post-war Frankfurt, Germany, into a career Air Force family. Prior to his career in music p ...

) *'' Doriella Du Fontaine'' (session recorded by Alan Douglas in November 1969, with

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

and

Buddy Miles George Allen "Buddy" Miles Jr. (September 5, 1947February 26, 2008) was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys (1969–197 ...

Guest appearances

*Material: The Third Power; ''E Pluribus Unum'' and ''Power Of Soul'' (Black Chant). * Working Week: Working Nights / 12"; ''Stella Marina''. *

Apollo 440 Apollo 440 (also known as Apollo Four Forty or @440) are a British electronic music group formed in Liverpool in 1990. The group has written, recorded, and produced five studio albums, collaborated with and produced other artists, remixed as ...

: Dude Descending A Staircase; ''Hustler Groove'' and ''The Children of the Future''. * Cosmo Vitelli: Video; ''Science Affliction''. *

Silent Poets Silent Poets is a Japanese electronic duo (now solo project). They have released six original albums and more than seven remix albums/EPs until now. Gaining international recognition, Silent Poets has been featured in countless music/fashion mag ...

: Words and Silence; ''Inquizative, Derivative'', and ''The Children of the Future''. * Faya Dub: Sings and Plays; ''Reggae Monk''. * Seven Dub: Rock It Tonight; ''Land of the Lost'' and ''Naturally''. * Michel Benita: Drastic; ''Sky Screen''. * Aktivist: Stereotape; ''Nouvelle Experience''. *Various Artists: ''Acid Jazz And Other Illicit Grooves'' (spoken word — Introduction only) *Various Artists: 12" / ''30 Ans Apres Martin Luther King''. *Various Artists: Tempo Jazz Edition Volume 1 – Talking Loud; ''Mean Machine '90''. * Malik & the O.G's: ''Rhythms of the Diaspora Vol's 1 & 2 Featuring

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician ...

'' (spoken word – Jazzoetry); "Malik's Mode", Mentis Records 2015. * Stephen McCraven: ''Killing Us Hardly''; "We Can't Stand It", 2018

Filmography

*''Poetic Justice'', directed by

. With

and

. *''

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

'', directed by Dick Fontaine, featuring

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed inst ...

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

and

Steve Williamson Steve Williamson (born 28 June 1964) is an English saxophonist and composer (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, keyboard and composition). He has been called "one of the most distinctive saxophone voices in contemporary Britis ...

References

External links

grandfatherofrap.com Jalal Mansur Nuriddin's website

Ordinary Guy Publishers website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuriddin, Jalal Mansur 1944 births 2018 deaths 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people African-American male writers African-American musicians African-American poets American male poets American spoken word poets Converts to Islam Deaths from cancer in New York (state) People from Fort Greene, Brooklyn Rappers from Brooklyn